You make some very good points. I loved RDR2, but felt like two-thirds of the way through the game it became main story and nothing else. I thought the side quest content was really good, but there needed to be a lot more of it. The “random” events were awesome, but when they were eventually all completed, it made the world feel somewhat empty in comparison. That said, it’s still one of my favorite games. I’m on a playthrough right now where I mostly just mess around in the world. I like how slow-paced it is. You can just do whatever. Eat, drink, fish, sleep, fight, hunt, cook, ride, shoot… There’s no end to the number of personal side quests you can make up.