I don't think MW19 was awful, but it only had about 6 maps for 6v6 traditional MP. They added Shoothouse and Shipment eventually that was a saving grace.
Considering we got half of the available maps in the beta.
And of those 6 maps, 2 were the Infamous Picadily and Azhir Caves.
St Petrograd wasn't much of a looker either, the map design made it impossible to enjoy high end aerial streaks as well.
Over time as you say more patches came and the game got a bit better.
MW19 was different than all the Cods, eventho it did well and was well received to some extent.
Lot's of people liked it, some on the fence and quite a few old school players hated it.
It was the different mechanics and trying to close the skillgap and cater to newer players.
That being said, playing with friends makes it ultimately a better experience. Even if it's a terrible match and we get whooped it's still banter.
It's even more fun winning.
The gunsmith was revolutionary, the game had good ideas. Sometimes the execution wasn't there on others.
The game itself isn't a 10/10 or a 2/10. If I was rating it myself personally I would give it a 7.5.