I'm just going to say a few thing. You said somewhere that you quit in the swamp so you definitely quit far too early for the old buddy old pal moments. You don't BW having those moments in the first part of the game, and likewise CDPR didn't have those moments either till later in the game after you've had more interaction with them. Geralt doesn't really remember these people so its logical not to act like old buddies.
Second in the other Witcher thread I noticed you really didn't get what was going on with "Leo's" spirit and the King of the Wild Hunt so don't get too critical of the story when you aren't bothering to understand it and aren't realizing they are setting up a mystery as to why the Hunt is interested in Geralt and that's the question you should be asking. To expect more would be like spoiling who the PC is in KotOR before you left Taris. Its the major point in the third game and you don't figure it out until the end of the second.
I get that you don't like the Witcher, different strokes right? But honestly you do feel the need to go on about it in practically every Witcher thread I've seen for a series you've not even completed 2/5's of one game. I'm guilty of that as well with some titles but when I do its typically sequels that diverge from their originals and I've at least completed more than what amounts to the introduction. So what did the Witcher do to personally offend you or is this some of that BioWare fans vs. Witcher fans ridiculousness? I really don't get the vehemence for a series you barely played.
I don't expect him to be buddy buddy with everyone, but I felt like he lacked even a basic level of humanity and it didn't really make for a compelling protagonist. He doesn't have to be nice, he just has to be "something" and I would have found it more interesting - and I never got that. It was like playing A Bard's Tale but with none of the humor or wit and twice the apathy.
As the ever amusing Yahtzee said, I'm not about to check myself into bedlam on the off chance they're serving ice cream. If it gets better, I'll take your word for it. But after getting 20 hours into a game still feeling like I haven't gotten to the (or really, just a) good part yet, I decided it was better to cut my losses. I don't think it was so much mysterious as just ambiguous - the game didn't tell you a lot, but it also didn't make me want to know more. And don't take my lack of recollection for a lack of effort or comprehension - I gave it the old college try, but it was three plus years ago and the key being that Witcher didn't give me a reason to care. So whatever detail and nuance (or even charm) that may have been there I didn't have a reason to retain.
There were bright spots - there was some event in the swamp where you could choose to tell some elf encampment of an attack from some human troops (which would probably save them, the 'underdog' of sorts - but betray 'your people') or not tell them and they would presumably be slaughtered or captured or something. It was an interesting dilemma, I struggled with what I wanted to do and I cared - even if Geralt still didn't lol. But finding something compelling seemed to be more the exception than the rule.
I make no attempt to go on, but I will make an opinion and support it as necessary. A post doesn't have to praise a game to be valid or relevant. In much the same way some people will discourage others from playing DA2 or buying a Madden game or playing something on a console, I'm merely representing one side of the coin (perhaps die is more appropriate). I will say that I was excited years ago to have both DAO and The Witcher 'lined up' to dive into and had high expectations for both after the media and positive reviews I'd seen for them - expansive, engrossing, lush fantasy RPGs. But I'd say they were only half right lol. It was frustrating putting a not insignificant amount of time into a game that never (for me) delivered.