Look at the bajorans. They are shown as sympathetic in the show, but are backwards and superstitious. Time and time again there are olive branches offered to the bajoran people but they responded with terrorism and violence. Sure, the occupation wasn't perfect, but Gul Dukat tried to make it better. He saved so many lives and there are no statues of Gul Dukat on Bajor. He should have killed them all.
Just like the rest of Trek, it takes a season to grow the beard and for everyone to get comfortable in their roles and for the writers to get comfortable.
However It's very different from the rest of Star Trek however, it's not about the exploration of the universe. Is much more of a look of what it is like on a starbase and the day to day operations on that starbase.
You’re missing out on the best episode of trek ever (In the Pale Moonlight) which features the best character plain simple tailor in Star Trek, Elim Garak.
It's fundamentally TNG but better, did you like TNG? E.g. it fixes the biggest flaw of TNG, which was how Picard was always right. Sisko is very frequently wrong.
That wasn't a problem with TNG. Idk why people are so opposed to an idealized future with a strong lead these days. Picard was an example of what we might aspire to be. He was wise, fair, and strong.
I struggled all through season 1 and then somewhere in season 2 it started growing on me. It is now my favourite trek, and having grown up only knowing tng that is no small feat.
It grew on me too, but it never fully clicked. The characters just didn't resonate with me for some reason, the plots, themes, and chemistry was all good, just, eh. Exception of Garak, by God I loved Garak. Any scene was made better by his presence.
It is bad... At first! That's pretty standard for Trek though. All the old shows have a bad start and then get really good. Skip to the middle of s2. You can circle back around to the beginning at the end if you want. I tried to watch DS9 unsuccessfully several times before using the above approach. It's an amazing show once it gets going!
I don't know if I agree with your tactic. DS9, unlike almost all other Trek, is about the characters and how they grow over time. Usually the shows are just about some mystery and everything returns mostly to normal after. DS9 the story actually effects the characters. You need to be introduced to them for it to be meaningful, but I do agree that wasn't super great.
First season is kinda slow. I hate to be the meme but skip it or just start in season 2. Unless you don't like other classic treks, it's not widely different just the first with longer in depth story arcs.