Yep... I thought I wouldn't mind the stickers either, but they just don't work. G1 toys are relatively not as detailed or rounded in their sculpting, so there's lot of more flat surfaces to put stickers on. It just doesn't work as well on modern toys with superior sculpting that are meant to rely on paint apps and tampographs for added detail. I don't mind applying stickers on reissues, because these are reproductions of old toys... but with modern toys it's just crapola. And as you said, AMs are really too reliant on stickers for details (although Smokescreen is an extreme example, the others aren't as bad as him). Good example - TFPRiD Vehicon vs AM Vehicon - I have both, and I much prefer Hasbro's. As with Smokescreen, the Vehicon comes with stickers that cover up the transparent headlights, which look really nice _without_ the stickers, and the stickers actually ruin it! It's a clear case of "less is better" with some of these stickers. Also, AM Vehicon's Decepticon logo is applied ON the chest, which has a window covering a nicely detailed interior where there is a flat panel for the insignia... but the sticker cannot be directly applied onto that panel because it's covered by the window!! Hasbro's version has the insignia tampograhed on that panel, then covered by the window - beautiful!

The Microns themselves are just rubbish that require MORE stickers. Gah!
The only AM toys I've collected have been toys that Hasbro haven't released: Voyager War Breakdown, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Jet Vehicon, Vehicon (cos the Hasbro one was taking ages to come out here, and even when it did it was initially hard to find) and Smokescreen (because I'd ordered it before news of BH Smokescreen came out). Thankfully I got my Smokescreen on sale, so I paid about $16 for it. But yeah, I'd highly recommend just waiting for Beast Hunter Deluxe Smokescreen to come out and get that instead.

I know I'll be buying a BH Smokescreen when I find one! My AM Smokescreen will just stay displayed in vehicle mode after that!