The problem (at least in CRPGs, such as NWN 2 and IWD 2) was that these games were balanced in such a way that you wanted to keep your party perma-buffed, otherwise any encounter, however simple, could end up in a disaster. Around mid- to late game, buffing the party was becoming such a chore (I had to do it after every long rest) that I found myself rushing towards the end, just to cut down on this tedious stuff. Not fun at all.
So yeah, after playing countless hours of 3.5e, my personal opinion is that the game should be balanced around an un-buffed party, and if you find an encounter difficult, you can sacrifice a spell slot or two (or a couple of potions) to tip the scales in your favour. From what I see, 5e has (mostly) fulfilled that.
I feel you, the pre-buffing chore was tedious in the infinity engine games (BG, IWD) too, some of the better AI scripting in the EE fixed that though but the issue remains. Def not arguing to go back to that but on the other hand I think the indirect effect making potions in general bland and only available as stat boost for strenght is a pity. Just make them ultra rare or reduce the stat boost magnitude, duration or something but the idea of a magical world were potions only serve to heal, invisibility and cure diseases is very bland IMO and a step back from the wonderful fantastic world filled with rare-exotic potions -which admittedly have only very situational uses.
