I am one of those (apparently few) people who actually enjoy strongholds and player homes in most games and I think I can provide a useful explanation as to why. In response to the many PoE stronghold comparisons I'll first take some time to provide my defense for its existence.

In contrast to many of the opinions already voiced in this thread I simply adored the PoE stronghold. While I see a distinct case of a missed opportunity in its implementation when it comes to quests, rewards, interactivity, etc. , it appealed to me for one reason - roleplaying. The way PoE was designed it was near inevitable that the player character quickly became absurdly rich. As a dedicated roleplayer I found this intriguing instead of troubling. In light of his new found riches my player character immediately thought it fitting to have every imaginable luxury he could possibly acquire and the stronghold provided just the right amount of self indulgent material fluff to satisfy his whims. The eventual visiting of filthy rich nobles, dedicated servants and the like only further satisfied his taste for wealth and power. Conversely, a more humble player character may have seen the excess this castle personified as something to be avoided and eventually destroyed (endless paths quest), only investing in necessary rooms and avoiding raising his prestige. With opportunities like these in mind I found great joy in making decisions in reference to my stronghold throughout my entire playthrough. Furthermore, despite its shortcomings (that have already been thoroughly discussed) I still felt it a worthy addition to the game.

That said, I find it important to point out that I am lucky to have been among the type of roleplayers who seek to build what I would call a citizen in a roleplaying game and I'll explain what I think would constitute the type of roleplayers who were rightfully disappointed. When building a character in a roleplaying game, especially the rich and complex crpgs that those interested in the divinity series love, there are a few different types of roleplaying that I have come to recognize. Those being:

The God character - more often referred to as the power gamer, he or she seeks to uncover the limits of the world and use them to their full advantage and create a personality with immense power, sparing no sympathy when it comes to bugs and exploits
The Hero\Antihero - seeks to make full use of every advantage offered in story, exploration, and game mechanics without resorting to bugs or exploits in order to create a character of great power and influence in the game world
The Player Character - seeks to model their character on the merits of their real life personality giving less attention to underlying mechanics and more to player preference creating an authentic relationship with the game world, narrative, and characters
The Adventurer - seeks a specific playstyle from the outset of their journey with the intent to complement that character with all of the advantages of complimentary class\levelling decisions, story decisions, companions, and equipment in order to create a hero with distinct personality
The Citizen - seeks to create a character with specific values, morals, tendencies, fears, and other intricacies either preconceived or developed along with the dynamic events of their playthrough. Often specifically including or excluding certain decisions, narrative pieces, and mechanics in order to create a character as immersed and grounded in the lore, story, and world of the game as possible

With accommodation of all of these types of roleplayers (as well as variations and blendings of each) in mind, it's my belief that in order to create a better stronghold in a roleplaying game it must be inclusive by player choice in every way. From a design philosophy perspective this can be very simple (I lack the expertise to comment on technical implementation). Any feauture within or as an extension of the stronghold should be accessible by choice rather than arbitrary thresholds. To illustrate this I'll use the example of an additional room to be added to the stronghold. Upon deciding they want a specific additional room the player should be given various options on how to acquire it. For illustration purposes lets say the room is inaccessible because it is inhabited by a lingering spirit. The options for removing it being; a fight, having learned the spirits reason for haunting the room and providing it with information that will release it, hiring stronghold staff to kill it for you, learning an incantation for banishment, stealing an incantation for banishment. Having completed the task all players would receive the room with it's initial purpose alongside a seperate smaller reward or hindrance indicative of their playstyle. Primary and secondary task rewards\hindrances could come in the form of quests, characters, decorations, narrative, items, unique dialogue, etc.

If this philosophy were used it would be possible to include whatever rewards (or hindrances i shouldnt forget) developers felt comfortable including without alienating certain types of players, without necessitating a direct inclusion in the main narrative, and without creating a wasted space. At the same time it would be possible to include a way for players to personalize their experience through choice in their investments. This is, without a doubt, a larger undertaking than those usually present in player bases but one I feel is possible and maybe necessary to create a truly enjoyable stronghold.

For all the failed player bases in gaming I think it's been a high barrier of entry in one specific gameply style (usually game currency investments rewarded with stat boosts or equipment access) that has ultimately been their dowfall. There are obviously many limitations and difficult design decisions to be made within any framework but the core principle of inclusivity once a feature has been chosen would be highly desirable when creating an accommodating and desirable stronghold.

I hope this considerably lengthy post does some good in the development of dos2 or at least provides this sector of the gaming community with some valuable thought pieces when it comes to improving one of the obviously lacking areas of game development.