Tony,
I would agree with the "no one remembers who finished second" mentality for Wilson vs. Jones. Their styles were very similar but you wouldn't know it from one article I have in my files where they go back and forth endlessly about their differences. RTJ won the PR battle overall.
I have a lot of respect for Wilson, after co-designing renovations at the two La Costa courses. I concur he designed for the tournament aerial game, and was not really concerned about everyday play, save a stab at multiple tees. Many holes have front center bunkers precluding almost any kind of roll in.
I actually like his elevated greens, and as you say, (or Ron F) the bunkers fit well in those fill pads. Moreover, the 10-15% upsweep to the greens really looks great, compared to the ground level greens we see more of in minimalism styles.
Plus, his puzzle piece bunkers are among the best. We could tell which parts of La Costa he and his original shapers did. Later phases were designed by Joe Lee and built with in house crews, and those bunkers and greens were clearly lesser than the original 18.
There is a lot to like about that style, but it has clearly fallen out of favor these days. But, I do wonder when the restoration movement will move full swing to courses built in the 50's, then 60's, then 70's and 80's. Many of them certainly deserve preservation and updating rather than wholesale blow ups to what is currently trendy.