DA2 engine wasn't that bad. At least the males didn't all have that face like Anders and Nathaniel. You know the one. Both Nate and Anders were distinct in DA2. A step up.
I'm not saying DA2's graphics were all bad. Had Bioware taken their time(As most fans were thinking they should when they announced DA2), I think the engine would have come out looking a lot better. But my thing was that the graphics capabilities of consoles and PCs in 2011 were capable of so much more than DA2 ended up showing. I'm not sure how much of it was because of the engine itself, lack of development time(which was a factor for sure), or simple laziness on the part of the devs(Remember the nobles in the keep at the end of ACT 2?). The point is that I don't think that Marchers were really given a decent shot at looking distinct and unique in DA2 because the end product didn't really show it.
Not gonna defend the engine in DA:O/DA:A though. That one had its own issues. DA:I is the first Dragon Age game that I see a marked improvement in graphics for the Dragon Age franchise.