I'm basing that on the latest couple of seasons vs the first couple of seasons. They were more about political intrigue and barely had any action in them at all. In fact, a lot of the battles happened off-screen. Now there's barely any political intrigue and the seasons are centered on "epic" battles, while the plot is just a means to that end.
I hear what you're saying (although I think the battles thing was largely a budget limitation). BUT to you I ask again what I asked some other dude a minute ago:
The first scene of season 1 is about White Walkers. The dragons are build up from season 1 even before they actually hatch. It was very clearly established that this would be a big part of the story. In your opinion how should the show be handling this particular aspect/conflict of the story?
Also with most of the major houses and players gone, where is the political intrigue left to rest? Which parts of the story could be doing more in regards to political intrigue? Legit question - like, should Cercei be facing more opposition IN King's Landing? More Sansa showing off what she's learned? Dany talking to Westerosi houses and gauging their support?
Fair questions. I don't have a perfect answer to the first one - I'm not a writer. However, the show got popular not because of the fantasy elements (I believe), but because the plot was relatable. My impression is that a lot of people appreciated how characters were positioned in morally gray areas rather than this typical "good vs evil". Yes, the good vs evil is there in the form of white walkers, but it's a backdrop. If a show changes its tone the way GoT has done, it's bound to lose a lot of its original fan base.
As for your second question, I don't really care for the way they deleted so many of the major houses and players. It's very transparent and it indicates that they had no idea how to resolve the plots they started. The bombing of Baelor's Sept is perhaps the most egregious example of this, however not much higher up on the list is Ramsay offing Roose to make sure the Boltons are completely evil and can't be rooted for, Littlefinger being reduced to a pathetic sideline schemer, and Varys being reduced to a bald, frowning guy with nothing interesting to say. ---
Everything has an end, except for the sausage. It has two.