"Say what you will about the expansions (which could be fun) and the user made campaign (which could also be fun) but the NWN OC is one if the worst things you can ever make someone play."
No. BEST EVER.
You will not win this non debate. Better posters have all tried.
Well I'm not sure anyone can win. It's just a matter of preference but I'm a bit surprised that someone actually believes this. I just replayed NWN (don't ask why) so lots of the idiotic shit is still in my head. Although I tend to have a favourable opinion of the entire thing because the NWN OC is the first game I ever played. Hard to hate your first game. But let's take a shot at this. I'm not going to least all my problems with it but just some that you mentioned it did well earlier.
Anyways, you listed 'better C&C' and 'better graphics' both of which I think NWN does terribly. Even if they do them better than BG1/2, they still do them terribly. I agree that NWN had a ton of combat options though. C&C is non-existent in NWN. Take the third chapter for example: there are a variety of ways that you can strengthen the Lord's Alliance and help Neverwinter. You can settle the trial so that the tribe* isn't upset with the Lord's Alliance, you can convince the other tribe to side with the Lord's Alliance against Luskan, and you can stregthen the trade lines by killing two orcs and then Obould Many Arrows (there are probably other ways too but I can't remember them). However, no matter what you do nothing changes. Luskan is still going to steam roll Neverwinter and no mention of these things will be ever made after the quest goes into the completed tab. That's just one example but aside from: I can kill this person or I can let this person live (for literally every quest) there is no C&C. There are no consequences for your actions.
Better graphics is a bit subjective but whoever was designing NWN must have had some sort of spastic nature where he would add random shit to every map. It's like he made a final pass on the game to add 10x more magical beams of light everywhere (and boulders). None of it really makes sense. I suppose this is more about design than about graphics though.
*The tribe has a 'sacred place' in Beorunna's Well (I think that's the name) and one of the tribeswoman tells you to be respectful. When you get there it is a 5x5 place at the bottom of a hill with a well (the well of course has a magical beam of light shooting out of it) and two deer walking around. My favourite moment of the entire game.
Just as a side note, I discovered something the last time I played. That Summon creature 7/8/9 are a bit broken when you are playing on DnD Hardcore or above. Because if you get an air elemental or a water elemental once per summon they will attack you. The air elemental will always use a knockdown attack but the water elemental uses a drown attack that typically: killed my henchman, my familiar, did damage to me, and did damage to itself. Funny stuff. Although overall NWN is much easier on DnD hardcore than on normal because enemy wizards kill themselves and their teammates (and they are usually the only challenge).
I actually have fond memories of NWN's combat. It has some serious problems in the OC (far too many trash mobs and lack of difficulty) but there are a ton of different things you can do which is fun. I didn't even bother touching the story (top points for hamfisting a romance in the game in the last chapter though) because it's not really worth it. This isn't to say that the game was never fun (I can definitely think of a few moments that were fun to play) but it becomes too much once you leave familiar forest #3 to go into generic cave #7 to fight trash mob #1000.