I haven't finished the game. In fact, my main criticism of the game might be that there is too much to do. I also would have wanted a little more urgency in following the main quest (ME2 got this right in the sense that your crew suffers if you are busy going around the universe after they have been kidnapped). But at the same time, the fact that there is so much to do will probably allow for me to replay the game many times. And yes, as someone without a top flight PC, I struggle against the graphics, load times and UI. That being said, this focus on fetch quests is misplaced.
1. You don't owe the game everything. Don't want to collect shards? Then don't and really, you shouldn't because you can play the game how you want. I know that that is not a satisfying answer to many people, but choosing to not do things is just as viable an option in a role-playing game. Plus, you know, the Hinterlands is not the best place in the game. It is the place where you learn how to play the game. So leave. Come back, kill the dragon, go to Villamar. Get out. Go to Emprise de Lion or the Western Approach. Much better areas in my opinion.
2. All of the quests do connect with the main story line in a grander sense. Look, you are building the Inquisition. That means you have create people's trust and establish yourself in each area. That often means dealing with the little things that make people happier -- that's why you get power. IRL, the fire department have better things to do than to get cats out of trees, but they still might do it. Why? Because it gains civic trust. Cities need to fill potholes and plow snow to make their citizens feel they are protected, safe and have an effective government. The Inquisition has to do this too and that's why I go collect ram meat and find blankets for the refugees. I take these quests from that viewpoint, and they seem less like busy work to me.
3. Lastly, Origins was a great game. But even before DA2, people complained about how long and boring The Fade and the Deep Roads were and are. And people complained about the number of fetch quests in Origins. In fact, the Chanter Board, the Blackstone quests, The Mage Collectives, The Favours of Interested Parties, The Crime Wave quests, these are all fetch or collection quests. Lothering is full of them (unless collecting spider poison glands is not a fetch quest?). Look my favourite game is BG2 and, at this point, that is mostly because of nostalgia. But even a game as great as that had fetch quests. The reason why they exist in RPGs, quite simply is because you need a way and a reason for the player to gain experience and explore the game world. That's why some of them may be annoying but, they will never, ever, go away.
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