I felt about the same way you did regarding these books.

I skipped The Immortals Quartet and went right for Protector of the Small simply because I had managed to score all four off of Bookmooch, and I liked them INFINITELY better compared to the Alanna quartet. I only had a couple quibbles, but I agree with whoever said that it seems Tamora Pierce only gets better with time. Thus far I've only read Tortall books, but I agree by a lot.