I'm not sure what they expected from Ultimecia. You only ever meet her long enough for her to give some lame speech and then you beat her. She meddles a lot, but she seems to give the impression she's just riding on the coat-tails of others. She may be smart'ish and resourceful, but I never considered her all that intimidating. Adel definitely was intimidating. Ultimecia was a nuisance that got out of hand. Adel was a legitimate threat through and through. So I'm right there with you