I agree with you! Those were the seasons I had watched originally and I admittedly fell off. Coming back this time, I really enjoyed them. It does a great job of establishing the characters and their motivations. I know these characters get thrown through the ringer (hell, they already are) and it seems smart in retrospect to let you know who these people are outside of a crisis for a bit.

I've watched ds9 more times than I care to admit, and I totally agree. The second season isn't the best season, but it's damn good. Honestly, it's sisko that doesn't get good until later. Dude needed to find his footing, but that's one of the things that makes it so good. It felt real. He was coming off a major loss, a major shift in his career, and now he's got a shape shifting cop, ferengi bartenders, filthy, filthy spoon heads on his flank, and he has to deal with the very uncomfortable nature of being quasi-worshipped by an entire planet. That's a tough transition!

I really wish I could erase Stargate to watch again