I gotta be honest I still haven't played DS 1 or 3 so I may end up agreeing with you someday, but I love the areas man, as it goes on it gets very un-samey, and the dungeons, while extremely samey, can be very fun, how far are you in your current playthough? Any bosses that have been particularly difficult?
Jeez I never knew stamina was such an issue in the other games, those two hunters are great fun, I know a guy who's beaten it 3 times who recommends leaving the chaingun guy alive because he can reward you later, it's been said a lot but I love how much of the game isn't dictated to you whatsoever.