I was THERE when the Priest run was released. Hell, I moderated his message board. While there were the occasional complaints (mostly about gadgets and the presence of Ross), nobody was complaining about the lack of feats or T'Challa being jobbed to make guest stars look good. Actually, the biggest controversy I recall was the time Thor was shot in the head.
For good or for ill, in those days,
Black Panther was about, well, BLACK PANTHER. Not "exploring Wakanda", explaining why monarchy was bad, or hyping up a character from a completely different franchise.
And do I complain about Storm? Sure... because every time she turns up, SHE becomes the focus, and T'Challa is a supporting character in his own book. And then her fans come out proclaiming what a great story it is, and she's being shown the respect she deserves as the "Hadari Yao".
In a thread to appreciate T'challa. Who rarely gets any respect at all in his own books. Including UBP, where he needs to "learn a lesson" for months while Shuri & Okoye run the country. Yay!