What was your favorite period during Bulldog's run?
Hard to say, but I was really high on him when he returned in 1994. He should have been pushed much, much harder than he was.
Was he under-appreciated? Should he have gotten a world title run?
As stated before, Smith was way underbooked during the, ahem, "Diesel Era." Really, he absolutely should have had a larger role in the company during that period, and it shouldn't have taken a year for it to happen. I've never told this to anybody before, but, while I was a young smart mark in training, and I knew that Michaels versus Diesel was very much in the books at the time, the few seconds where the Bulldog had "won" the Rumble was actually something I bought into (mostly because I was not aware of the two feet touching the floor rule, which was not made clear until that year).
Did you like how they booked him in 1999?
To be honest, I'm still astounded that he would come crawling back to the WWF shortly after the death of Owen Hart. But, he also had a family to support, so, based on his options, I choose not to judge him on the matter. Absolutely not the highlight of his career, but, then again, more noteworthy than his time with WCW (the second time around).
Also, regarding the feud with Steve Austin, I do really wish that they explored that more than they did. If anything, it was a backdrop for the tension between Owen and Davey at the time, as Davey was focused on Austin instead of their tag team championship endeavors.