I'm in two minds about the TLG... Would you say you found the controls less or more frustrating than SOTC?

I just ordered Ratchet & Clank & Horizon Zero Dawn so it won't be for a while anyway but would be good to know...

The same, except there is a lot more to stumble over. The trick is to navigate the terrain efficiently. If you try to dash over everything you end up tripping a lot. To me TLG controlled very well. The character has real weight, once you get used to not being able to reverse instantly and start treating him like a real person navigating the terrain you won't have any problems. It's less finicky than Ico where you have to stand on the right pixel spot to grab onto a chain. Yet it requires more precision from you than stuff like TR and Uncharted where ledges act like magnets., or Infamous, AC and Spiderman where you can simply push the stick in one direction for auto parkour. In a game that's about navigating the terrain, it would be kinda pointless to automate that....

Cool, will give it a go at some point then! Good thing about coming to the ps4 party so late is that there's tonnes of great games for stupid cheap! 

I still have my hopes up for a proper remake of ICO. The remaster is ok yet the backgrounds are still the same blurry ps2 backgrounds. To be able to see the castle in all it's glory would be awesome. SotC remake arguably looks better than TLG! Runs better as well. That is an example of the student outdoing the master!

These needs new screenshots

I think you either have to drop it or get into the mindset of the controls. The controls are a bit clunky because they are a bit more realistic than the usual game. Most games don't have a button for holding on while climbing, etc. it is all in place to bring you into the rules of the world.
Once you master the mechanics of running around, jumping and climbing, you will have a much better time I think. Because the mechanics are consistent even if the enemy isn't.
It is important to take in every part of the game (music, sound, art, and story) while playing. So even if the world is barren, there is still value in its barrenness.

If anything I think you should look at the bosses as a challenge to take on rather than being frustrated at the controls. If you cannot do that then i am sorry to say but you are missing out on one of the best-designed video games of all time.