I would say that Dawn of War 1 is the pinnacle of the RTS genre. Still has never been topped by any game I've played, even its sequels. DoW 2 was a dumpster fire that removed most of the RTS elements and cut armies down to 1/3 of the size they used to be. DoW 3 was a step back in the right direction, but still was not really at the lofty heights the first game hit.
I used to dream that Blizzard would put Jay Wilson (who was the D3 lead while he was with them, but more importantly was the DoW1 lead before that) onto a Warcraft 4. I would've loved to see that. Alas, after D3 had a fairly chilly reception (and Wilson himself sparked outrage through unwise social media posting), Blizzard quietly demoted him (and he eventually left). So it was not to be. But I still wish it had happened.
I really enjoyed DoW2 as an action RPG but share your disappointment with it as a sequel to DoW1. I think it would have been received better with a different title.
I used to dream that Blizzard would put Jay Wilson (who was the D3 lead while he was with them, but more importantly was the DoW1 lead before that) onto a Warcraft 4. I would've loved to see that. Alas, after D3 had a fairly chilly reception (and Wilson himself sparked outrage through unwise social media posting), Blizzard quietly demoted him (and he eventually left). So it was not to be. But I still wish it had happened.