I think this season - finale aside - was the best season in years, but I still think you made some good points.

it feels like the Doctor kind of just stands around listening to exposition a lot more in recent seasons

This was certainly a problem in the last couple of episodes, and Jodie’s Doctor did her fair share of that, too. Ncuti’s Doctor was also absent a lot in season one (“Dot and Bubble” and “73 Yards” constitute 1/4 of the season!).