Thoughts on Rebels artstyle/design?

I've seen debates for years about the artstyle/design philosophies for Rebels, so I'm curious what yall think. (Obviously without spoiling past season 1)
Personally I really like it, especially the concept behind it! There have been lots of complaints about the thin lightsabers, and someone commented to the Sorta Stupid gang that they were thin due to budget; to my knowledge the lower budget was unrelated. It was very intentional, as the lightsabers and lots of the designs were directly inspired from Ralph McQuarrie's original Star Wars concept art! Chopper and Zeb are based on early designs of R2-D2 and Chewbacca respectively. 

That said, the budget was definitely lower, and people who expected the same quality as Clone Wars were kinda just out of luck. The character models can look a little rough or plasticky at times, and the texturing can be shallow or pixilated. If I had to guess, they pushed a lot of that budget into the particle vfx and backgrounds. (clouds, smoke, background paintings, the world itself) If they made the character models look best, then background ones would stand out since likely just the main cast would get special treatment, and then world wouldn't feel as real compared to them. I think the focus on the actual worlds and effects was for the best; it helps the viewer grow as attached to the galaxy and Lothal as the crew is.

But what do yall think? (Again, just in relation to Season 1, I know it changes over time)