I, for one, was shocked at the cognitive dissonance when Blizzard came out with a massive grind (the Timeless Isle) and people considered it amazing, breakthrough, and much better than dailies. Considering that dailies were the amazing breakthrough that did away with massive grinds.
I prefer dailies for the structure and the opportunity for storytelling. On the Timeless Isle I feel like I'm just killing Yaungol and watching timers for rare spawns. Which is silly. I did enough grinding in Everquest to last me a lifetime.