I think Larian had good writing until they brought in other writers and started reworking their ideas. I agree with you, but for me this game is dying more and more, after every interview with Larian, when they say - "everything is great in the game"
Yes, its very apparent when a non original writer tacks things on, the tone feels off somehow. Not just in the instance I quoted.
I feel this may be why Act 1 and 2 work better overall written by original writers and so more cohesive.
But that aside I was very pleasantly suprised by the Ascended route the first time I played it. I found none of the things I was warned about that would make it feel less than optimal. If anything it worked much much better and I was happier with it overall as the OP says.
