After having played StarCraft II melee for one or two years, I understand why people think Wc3 is worse as a strategy game. SC has a lot of strategy built into it, with its raids, expanding pressure, positioning most of all... Whilst WC3 is so centered around the hero. When it dies, it's like you lost the reason to keep playing.
Techtrees may differ, you may have Grunts and Headhunters on one side and Archers and Huntresses on the other, with different armor types, sure, but they still appear so similar. It's nothing like having Zerglings and Marines.
I believe the largest challenge for a future Warcraft RTS would be to try and keep heroes, perhaps reducing their importance, but make it as strategically intense as StarCraft. Someone may say «nah, they're
suis generis». I say that's giving up on making a good game and reaching a new level, which is what Blizzard did with StarCraft 1.
Blademaster, because of overpowered wind walk and Paladin, because of overpowered divine shield.
It was a good upgrade for Windwalk make damage. However, I think Blizzard made mistake by allowing the hero walk through units.
I never understood why blizzard would do that either. It's basically a free escape even if your enemy worked hard and strategically to trap you somewhere.
Having played WC3 for quite some time, I've always thought Blademaster was excessively powerful. He won't win games if you or your team aren't producing units, but he is no doubt the most hard to catch hero and the largest edge in the game. The way Wind Walk's bonus movement speed and duration scale up is quite overpowered as well. On the other hand, I have yet to see someone picking Mirror Image at early levels (it's so expensive mana-wise anyway). This kind of hero, which always lacks reasons or circumstances in which skilling differently would be better, is what I consider failed hero design.
About the gargoyle discussion. I don't like gargoyles either and consider them to be next to useless. What's most irritating about them is when you have an enemy force composed of 10 air units and 1 ground unit, they'll prefer targeting the ground unit, even if the air units are things like Hippogryphs. That's just so silly for a unit whose primary focus is anti-air. Consequently, you need to control them at all times. Consequently, people don't use them because they'll rather be controlling their heroes.
In all these years playing wc3, I've seen gargoyles being any good just once: they were fully upgraded and it was pure air-to-air. If Blizzard made this small change of making them prioritize air over ground, I could guarantee they'd be used a lot more.