Souls builds is just testing out how much nonsense you can get away with if you dodge shit well enough
As you mentioned, the Souls series, starting with Demon's Souls, is heavily weighted towards combat.
That's an inevitable criticism, and it's definitely a drawback, but I don't think the exploration aspect is that bad compared to other RPGs.
I think build diversity is very important in RPGs, and I enjoy those games. But the RPGs I've enjoyed in the past have been about exploration, puzzles, and quest solving, not just builds.
For me, Dark Souls/Bloodborne doesn't give me the exact same experience, but it's close enough to give me an indirect experience.