I think the issue is that all the 'imaginative' uses when the DS came out where essentially a collection of cheap gimmicks that you each offered about 5 minutes of gameplay.
If you were to try similar gameplay ideas now it would be written off.
The maps/inventories/menus work with more complex gameplay ideas without needing to find a new gimmick every 30 seconds to keep the player interested.
If you look at Zombi U for instance, (a game I've not played btw), a lot of the reviews disliked the repetitive nature of the gimmicks used on the touchscreen. If you look at NintendoLand you have 12 different games each using the pad in different ways, presumably because no one way was big enough to justify an entire game. Look at Wonderful 101, where although you could draw the shapes to use your abilities, by the end of the game you just used the right stick as it was more convenient.
However, in defence of the gamepad (because I do think it's brilliant), using it for maps, menus etc does free up TV space and decreases HUD clutter. It was brilliant in Pikmin 3 (played with wiimote and nunchuck) to give a real time over view of what was going on, in Windwaker it gave a nice tactile element to your inventory. And off-tv play is superb for those of us who aren't cheeto-stained basement dwellers who have families we share the tv with.
My partner is in love with the gamepad as a 2nd screen for playing Xenoblade on when I want to watch TV for example.
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