I like Sera but it wouldn't kill her to be more considerate of other people's feelings.
I hate the open world design, I hate the fact that hardly any zone is connected to the main plot, I hate the removed camera angle in conversations that's quite symbolic of individual people and interactions between them mattering less, I hate that Bioware sacrificed their core skill to schmooze up the Skyrim fans... and a fair bit more besides.
Fair enough. I like it when it works but large chunks of the game are just cold to me.
The zones are connected to the main plot by the rifts, the refugees you must assist, the activities in them of Corypheus's minions and lieutenants. They may not be as tightly connected as you'd like but they are connected and it is inaccurate to say that they are not. I personally like the open world design as I like to be able to roam around in a game world.
That's a pretty flimsy connection though. The thing is there's very little narrative satisfaction in any of those things, if the gameplay isn't enjoyable enough for you it's a glaring flaw.
I don't think the open world is to blame though, I think the main plot is just bad. Origin's plot probably could have worked quite well with that level design, and would have better side quest design. Well that and they need to cull all the inane Assassin's Creed filler.