For what it's worth, I find each of the Trasks to have some different nuances, I imagine mostly as a result of how Lacy creates each descendant of the original character, that give the different ones more interest than you have found. My vote for the best of them all is Gregory in 1897. He had the most developed personality, I thought, and I actually find his comeuppance to be more satisfying than the original Trask's fate at the hands of Barnabas (I realize most fans would disagree here). I just love Judith's series of phonecalls to her hapless hubby, particularly when she informs him, "now you have all the time you need to meditate." lol!
The 1840 Trask is interesting because he isn't clergy at all--he's been reduced to running a funeral home. One of my favorite moments is when Samantha is discussing the funeral arrangements for Roxanne and she says that "Lamar Trask" (named after Lara Parker, btw) wanted the honor of delivering the eulogy and it gave Samantha "great satisfaction" to turn him down flat. Clearly she despises the man.
The alliance that develops between Trask and "Gerard" probably is a case of wearing out the Trask character's welcome. But it's such fun to watch Lacy chew the scenery that I don't mind.
It's true that a number of characters in 1840 are repeats from the past. Lazlo, Angelique's companion, is one of them. I've wondered why we only see him in 2 or 3 episodes. Perhaps Michael Stroka found more regular work elsewhere?
G.