What is key to any system is story. You can take the shittiest system in the world, and if you have a GM with a good story and a well developed world, you can make any game system work. As for using miniatures... It breaks you from the story its a absolutely worthless game mechanic that has caused more harm to table top gaming then anything else.
Another problem with Dungeon & Dragons is that they are trying to push their game world... Pushing a story and I feel simply creates a lazy GM... If a GM can't make their own campaign story there is some serious flaws. This might just be me, but I've never once used a "Adventure" or "Campaign" Book... I found all of the stories suck anyways.
D&D no matter the edition always has loopholes, and game lawyer players will always find them and the GM will have to make House Rules to the point you are only basing your game on D&D rules. I would like to see D&D not have "CORE RULES" But a set of different ways of playing and from those rules forming your custom system that first the GM and players can agree upon. What if you want to play in a setting that magic is rare, or the reverse where magic is super common... There needs to be far more flexibility to the game system before I can ever get back into using the D&D system.