I liked all three in their own way, and I'm very glad I read them all. Even if you end up not liking them as much, it won't ruin Annihilation for you!

I heard "things that are worth doing are worth doing poorly", and it changed my whole mindset

Yep. I survived exclusively on Huel (complete meal replacements) for a few months. It takes the decision-making out of the equation, and you don't have to cook, heat up, or clean up (apart from the shaker).

❤️ look at you go, champ!

Yeah I don't actually recommend it anymore, because it's just Too Much in many ways XD For me it's clear there was a big drop in quality after book 5, but we couldn't have known that when we read the series as it was being published. So if you're already invested you might as well continue, if you see what I mean? I re-read the first few books a couple of times each when I was waiting for the later ones to come out, and then I read those mostly out of curiosity about how it ended. I read The Omen Machine when it came out (marketed as "a Richard and Kahlan novel", set directly after the last book of SoT) and just hated it. I havent read any of the Nicci books either.

As someone who loved the series as a teen, and is currently listening to the audiobooks to fall asleep at night, I wouldnt recommend it. It's nostalgic to me, but VERY WTF in places. A random list of stuff:

• lots or rape and torture. Often graphic. Child rape as well (beginning of the series). Gang rape. Main (male) character is also raped, but it's never identified as such and he ends up "loving" his rapist.
• lots of anti-socialist / anti-communist rants, usually propped up by caricatural strawman plots and character design. Ie, the bad guys from book 3 onwards are just a caricature of communists. Book 6 is basically "won't anyone think of the plight of entrepreneurs under communism?". Goodkind is openly libertarian and an objectivist, and a follower of Ayn Rand.
• related: as the books go on, the "rants" get longer and longer, up until it takes up several pages. One character would just monologue endlessly about individual freedom or about the Common Good (depending on which side they're on). None of this is done in the character's unique voice either, so they all end up sounding the same.
• each book takes great care to repeat, re-explain or summarise what had happened previously. That's great if you pick up the next book after a long break, especially as the magic system and history of the world can get a bit complex. Not so great if you read the series in one go.
• some of the plot elements seem quite derivative bordering on plagiarism (Samuel / Gollum for example), while others are truly original.
• for the audiobook versions: the reader changes almost every book. Most of the time that's not really an issue, apart for book 4 (I think?) In which the reader pronounces some names wrong (including that of the female lead!)

That said, it can be beautifully written in places, and some of the characters are really endearing. Despite the abundant sexual violence, and the fact that most of the adult female characters are "one of the most beautiful women Richard had ever seen", female characters are plentiful and interesting in their own right. The series also has several older characters (both male and female) who survive and stay important throughout the series (none of that "and then the old mentor dies so that the hero has to grow up"). It's also kinda refreshing that Richard and Kahlan are both established adults with careers and such, and not teenagers / young adults.

Yep, this whole book is basically "won't anyone think of the plight of entrepreneurs under communism?"