Despite its accolades and overall quality, I've felt 'The Dark Knight' actually moved away from a more ingrained comic book sort of movie. Perhaps a better way to put that is: 'Batman Begins' looked and felt more about Batman, while 'The Dark Knight' looked and felt more about a city with a caped crusader.
I'm thinking the main problem (because no film is perfect) with 'The Dark Knight Rises' is that, according to Nolan, it's a "war film"--in my opinion, his necessary step forward as a filmmaker first and a Batman helmer second. Batman has become an increasingly rare sight in the movies, and the action has been nudged further and further into daylight. I like that Nolan sorta addressed the "if Batman comes out at night, why don't the crims attack during the day?" question some of us have had, but, like I said, it pulls the emphasis away from Batman, methinks.
Not as good as 'Batman Begins'? I can accept that; that's still my favorite Nolan Batfilm thus far.
Not as good as 'The Dark Knight'? I don't think too many people expected it to reach that height; that was a box office lightning storm no one could have predicted.
Not as good as 'The Avengers'? That coming from Bob, I don't buy it for one second.