I thought DS was just as interesting when Barnabas wasn't an active vampire, but as usual, I am in a minority.
Well, if you're in that group, I'm definitely in it with you. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I think DS is just as interesting when Barnabas isn't even around. I enjoy the pre-Barn eps, the stretches of eps when Barnabas is absent (like when he's supposedly been staked in 1897 and chained in his coffin in 1970PT) and 1841PT. I thoroughly enjoy Barnabas - but I also find so many of the other characters just as compelling, and often I haven't even noticed that Barnabas didn't appear in a stretch of eps unless/until someone posts about it on the board.
Truthfully, though, throughout my years in fandom I've come to notice there seems to be two major camps of DS fans: those who are attracted to DS because of Barnabas and seemingly only (or at least chiefly) because of Barnabas - and those who seem to be attracted to the whole package. Neither group is "better" than the other. And neither is the "truer" DS fan. After all, any aspect of DS that makes anyone a fan is just as valid as any other, and any and all fans are to be wholeheartedly welcomed and embraced. It's just an interesting phenomenon.
(Actually, there's also another group: the fans who enjoy DS
in spite of Barnabas. But they tend to really be in the minority.
)