Anyway, just curious if others felt this way or even the artists here could shine some light

The issue with the phrase "his old stuff was better," as I understand JB (please correct me if I misunderstand, JB) is that its a matter of opinion, and what period is being to be considered as "old stuff." as it can be a relative term.

All artists evolve to some degree. Dave Cockrum did draw differently in his earlier run on the title. Storm is a good example of this, regardless of the inker. Her hair, in the early run, was drawn more flowing and stringy, while it seemed to be bushier in the later run. That particular detail may have been a reflection of the times, as hairstyles changed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The inker definitely does factor in, though, as to how the art is perceived. But, I suspect that even had Sam Grainger been able to return as inker on that later run, both Cockrum and his art would have changed to some degree and some fans would not have enjoyed it as much as the earlier work (and vice-versa).

Earlier Cockrum was full of dynamic energy and innovative layouts--easier to do with 17 pages bi-monthly.  Later Cockrum (as with a lot of artists) fell into some "Cockrum-isms" as he strived to draw 22 pages monthly.

"...Earlier Cockrum was full of dynamic energy and innovative layouts--"

This is something I noticed about some early-mid 1970s artists... While they still had great ability, Cockrum, along with Jim Starlin, and Marshall Rogers, and some others, did have innovative layouts and some little stylish things they did in the 1970s, but by the 1980s, the seemed to approach the drawing more conventionally and so it didn't always feel as dynamic by comparison with the earlier work.

One thing I wanted to add about Dave Cockrum, since I was thinking about it: He inked an issue of "Avengers" with George Tuska pencils, and it looked fantastic. The best I ever saw of an inker on Tuska, though I am biased as I favor Cockrum's work of that era over most Tuska jobs. NOTE: Tuska never really floated my boat with his superhero work, but his 1950s crime comics were very cool!

I really loved his work as an inker.