I agree completely! (Except with the end battle bit, I see where you are coming from, but I really enjoyed it!)
I've been complaining about Kakariko Village, and rightly so, but Zoras Domain is absolutly pitiful! WTF, they live in a pond quite literally! I mean what do they do all day, at least the Gorons go to the hot springs and Sumo wrestle and dance and eat rock or whatever...the Zoras just seem to be speaking fish! What happened to the Zora rock group from Majora's Mask, honestly the more I think about it the less remarkable this game gets, and that saddens me.