My MEIEJ viewing exactly mirrors yours, i mean exactly!
I know a lot of people hated the sultan track but i didn't mind it. I loved seeing RK eaten up with jealousy, it literally drove him mad.
I watched MEIEJ til the end and i wish i hadn't. It was awful what they turned our beloved RK into.
Some tracks i wasn't keen on were the Padmini and Malik wedding, (Madhu hanging by a noose and RK saving her, honestly?) and the re-entry of Ballu with the stupid Trishna storyline.
The Raja/Rani debacle, i wish i'd not seen it, any of it.
Vivian was super hot in the early days, he hasn't aged so well unfortunately. Drashti is still as beautiful as ever.
The golden years for me were from RK's entry ( i hated the whole Dickshit family, especially the dreary Mukund) to the sultan track.
I loved the unwedding, it was such a shock to me, i didn't see it coming. You gotta understand i was watching in England (i'm English) i didn't know india-forums existed back then and had no knowledge of the show apart from watching the daily episode on Rishtey tv uk.
I fell in love with RK and Madhu when they first met, the chemistry between Vivian and Drashti has never been matched in my opinion and i thank my lucky stars that i broke away from UK soaps and found Madhubala Ek Ishq Ek Junoon.