I think another reason why there is so little tension in the plot (namely in the first half), is that we never get the feeling that the succession tournament could have a bad outcome. In the Pelupelu village, the saddlemaker says he wants Zoraal Ja to win because he will make money equipping the cavalry as they invade other countries, but it becomes quickly apparent that North and South America are united under the Dawnservant and there is no other power on the continent to wage war against. When Wuk Lamat approaches you at the end of the Endwalker patches, she makes the succession tournament out as if it could result in Tural invading Eorzea, but when we go to Tural we see that they have no navy and only a few rudimentary hot air balloon baskets. There is no way they could move a large enough force past Limsa's navy to conquer anything in Eorzea. What's the worst thing that could happen if Bakool Ja Ja were to become king in Tuliyollal? The other races don't seem to hate each other or have any ambitions, so people just probably stop visiting the so-called capital and tend to their own lands and carry on as usual? And then you get the quest where the Dawnservant says that he won't give up his own throne to the unworthy, which further evaporates the stakes. So what you're doing doesn't feel very important beyond just being a bodyguard.
Another issue with the writing after Stormblood is how the narrative insists that no one is evil, everyone is just misunderstood and if only their circumstances were different, they would be nice to you! It was pretty frustrating to see Wuk Lamat bending over for BANDITS aka cold blooded robbers and murderers, as if every single one of them would be upstanding citizens if their "circumstances" were different. Bakool Ja Ja was better when he was a dirty schemer and brute. And I didn't need to see Zoraal Ja's story end with the Scions standing around his corpse and sad piano music playing while the little lizard cried "why father?". He should have just died.