The thing with 10 is...it actually became 10's story.
Yes, very much so. I've seen this talked about before (here f.ex) and I think it accounts for why a lot of people can't warm up to Eleven whilst others are suddenly falling head-over-heels in love.

As for Buffy, then I think the problem with s8 is that (as far as I can tell) it's no longer Buffy's story, and he's only using her to tell a story. Which I wouldn't mind so much if only the story was good...