I wanted Rick to become more of a good guy.
Actually, this was happening during S5 and S6. Especially if you watch him in Ambushed, he was halfway human. Hubby saw it before I did, and he said, "Check under Rick's desk for the pod. He was actually halfway nice in this one."
Having a husband who worked Internal Affairs, I could tell you that much of the time, Rick wasn't all that bad. If you watch him, he was either advising, and sometimes even protecting.
As for the thing with Yelina: There was some codependency on all sides. And let's be fair. Rick was just a stand-in for Horatio. If you go to some YouTube Clips (I can post some links here if you want), Yelina would be with Rick, but she'd look at Horatio with those eyes as if to say "I wish it were you." And I'm sorry; Horatio should have just gone ahead and dated Yelina.
One thing I really think the Miami writers should've developed more. I'm sure there was a rivalry between those two that goes further back than just the promotion to Lieutenant that Rick swore was his. I think those two were somehow fierce rivals for a while. Just speculating.
But I really do miss the Horatio/Rick pi$$ing contests. The show just isn't the same without that. In fact, I poke fun at that in a lot of my fanfics.