Assassins Creed is making me miss Desmond for all the wrong reasons

My worst fears about Assassin's Creed have come to pass: ever since killing off Desmond in Assassin's Creed 3, the modern day narrative that connects each game in the series has been spinning its wheels, all while the Ubisoft machine continues to churn out new adventures in the ages-long conflict between assassin and Templar. The modern day battle of ideologies is the backbone of the entire franchise