Would you say that GT is more or less liked nowadays?

[Mad Swami]

I don't get the sense that Goku cares much of Piccolo does become better at that point, just as long as he doesn't start causing trouble. Goku's aim isn't to better others. He does it by example. The Dr. Gero thing is absolutely in character. He lets bad guys live to fight them later. That's his explicit reason for letting Vegeta go.

Vegeta is really the only instance of it beforehand. I feel like people forget a lot of Goku's past actions
He saves the turtle out of kindness
He fights the Red Ribbon Army to save Bora
He does so many selfless deeds. I think Goku letting Vegeta go is a tad differen't due to Vegeta already be beaten. However if Goku had the opertunity to stop Vegeta and Nappa from coming to Earth, he'd probably try it. He mentions just being scared to know about them. Goku isn't the biggest one acting out of character, he's more bearable. Tien, Piccolo, and Krillin act too out of character though. Goku sure leads by example, but you always get the feeling he hopes to see his former enemies change at that he works towards it. Indirectly for the most part, but there is a good nature to Goku's relationshp.

However this doesn't change the fact that Goku does have some sort of arc in the Frieza saga of embracing his Saiyan nature. Just because he isn't hating on Saiyans every pannel doesn't mean you don't get the picture that Goku by the end kind of likes being a Saiyan. That moment really comes when he tells Vegeta to "Lend his pride" That's the moment when Goku fully embraces his Saiyan herritage

He does help people but he doesn't go looking for it. Turtle and Bora were beings he ran into on his journey. I've said this. And he would've fought the RRA anyway since they had the Dragon Balls

There is literally nothing in the text or subtext to support your claims that Goku would've pre-emptively stopped Vegeta and Nappa from coming to Earth if he could.

He hopes to see enemies change, but only because he doesn't want them causing death and destruction.

What you are describing is not an arc. He didn't have a strong aversion to being a Saiyan and asking Vegeta to lend him some pride doesn't allow him to achieve anything he couldn't have before. He isn't able to overcome any sort of barrier. You are just trying to make it sound more poetic (for lack of a better word) than it really is. That might have been what Toriyama was going for but it doesn't work.

I'm hoping GT will get a better appraisal. It's boring in large parts, though underrated in other aspects. It's not the worst thing ever as it practically had the reputation as being.

he literally admits he doesn't want to fight them. He says hes scared

Its not a grand arc, but its an arc. You can say it doesn't work but it exists

[ABED]

That doesn't sound like Goku at all. He might be scared but he's also excited by fighting strong enemies. The simple fact of him being scared doesn't imply he would stop them from arriving on Earth if he could.

When does he say he doesn't want to fight them? If true, THAT is far more out of character for him to not want to fight them.

I stand by my statement that it's not an arc.

[Xeno Goku Black]

I would say more. It's still generally not well liked because it genuinely isn't very good but it does seem more popular nowadays. Not sure if part of that is because of Heroes.