So sorry to hear about the dissappointment with Palau. I really have fond memories from it, and I did it with Fish n Fins. I believe the crux of the matter stems from the idea that 'regardless of the destination, it's the people that make the real difference". I've been on many dives that are superb dive spots, but if the people are inexperienced / ignorant / dangerous etc, it can totally ruin the dive experience regardless of venue (I HATE seeing destructive divers tearing up the coral - brings out the spear gun in me). Even if they are fantastic divers, there is such a thing as 'too many divers', and anyone that's done a night dive with too many people never enjoy the experience as much as if there was just a handful (think random flipper kicking off your mask). For the most part, we have no control over whom we dive with at these places, but we do have control over when we dive.
Having not dived in 'Cattle Season' I don't know what it's like. However, having dived in Palau with Fish n Fins in low season I can say that I have never been given as much attention on a dive experience than with any other operator. The reason is that there were just 3 of us and the DM. The DM picked the popular dive spots, assessed our diving skills (no hooks for currents either, thank god!), and then recommended dive spots based on surface conditions. The were very receptive, acknowledge requests and gave a reasonable explaination if dives sites could not be included. I imagine that all this attention could change in the 'cattle market' mentality, in which the majority could win. I just completed a liveaboard where we banded together and convinced the DM to do a super early Dawn dive, when it wasnt scheduled, and he agreed. However that did mean that we sacrificed the night dive was scheduled for later, however the majority of the divers agreed to that.
So what am I saying? Basically, you really had some rotton luck, and it's a shame when operators have to resort to Cattle like mentality. If you go back, give the Ocean Hunter a try.