I didn't mind the way they handled quests. Sure by the time I finished the game I'd missed a few, but it also made the ones I managed to complete so much more satisfying. Completing the Ranni questline without using a guide was a great feeling, and only made that secret ending more gratifying.
Side Note: I'm halfway through Dark Souls 3 right now, for my first proper playthrough (I.e. my first playthrough where I've lasted more than 2 hours). And they have the same approach for quests there, so I think that's really helped me appreciate the quest design.
I don't think it's really the intention for you to 100% EVERY quest. They way they're spaced out, it's more about discovery, happening upon quest givers, being rewarded for exploring or doubling back to old locations. And then you're encouraged to make new choices and try different quests in future NG+ playthroughs.
I think trying both games back to back has helped me appreciate that it's a very different pace of questing.
I'm the kind of gamer who normally needs to complete every single side quest, so when I realised I'd failed my first side quest in ER I was a tiny bit bummed. But then I realised failing that quest actually opened up another option to me, like 20 hrs of gameplay later.
Similarly in DS3, I'd formed a covenant with these two cool characters and had been summoning and interacting with them for most of the game. And then I formed an alliance with this weird looking creature, because why shouldn't I, right? Turns out I formed an alliance with the mortal enemy of my two companions. They parted ways and swore to kill me if they saw me again.
All that stuff felt organic and exciting to discover in a way that plenty of other open games don't quite manage.