I agree on all counts. Shows like Macbreak Weekly and TWiT itself became insufferably tedious. They are like raucous dinner parties while the 5by5 shows (usually 1on1) are still conversations.

Back to Work is essential, Hypercritical is good, and Build & Analyze and The Talk Show are decent if you don't mind a bit of Apple-club party-line (Benjamin/Mann/Siracusa are also Apple-club, but not annoying about it).