I respect your opinion - AHS isn't for everyone. But I feel the need to engage in some debate...
1. Taissa Farming may not be most seasoned actress on the show, but she pulls off the characters she is assigned. She is supposed to be the "doe-eyed" girl next door type.
2. Kathy Bates is an amazing actress who most definitely isn't type-casted. I mean especially in a show like this where she played a racist psychopath who is granted immortality and then in Freak Show a more quiet type bearded-lady with a moral compass. In Hotel she's Iris, a charismatic mommy with attachment issues. Not to mention her appearances in comedies (Tammy, The Office, Bad Santa 2) and even kid's movies. She portrayed Madame Laveau wonderfully and not to mention was scary AND hilarious.
3. Spalding was a much needed male presence...even if he dressed up like a doll. Plus his relationship with Fiona helped emphasize how powerful her character was.
4. The Ax-Man is typical American Horror Story, and I mean that in a good way. He was based off a real American horror story, and the actor played it well. Even his chemistry with Jessica Lange was great, and his voice was PERFECT to parallel his jazz-loving soul. Plus he brought out Fiona's human side a little.
5. The "blonde guy" is Evan Peters and he is a fantastic actor. I won't argue that Kyle was kind of a boring character, but you can't deny that the witch fights over him weren't entertaining. I mean come on.
6.Stevie Nick's Hat - Wow low blow.
I agree with you that Coven definitely borderlines dramatic comedy rather than a horror show and that the slave torturing was definitely the scariest part. It wasn't my favorite season...but it did its job for me and that was it entertained me. I think Coven was very well written and while the Stevie Nick's interludes may have dragged a bit, overall a great installment of the show. Very "Ryan Murphy."