Yes, I have to agree. A game is only 'Mario' if it is approved by Mario's creator, Miyamoto-san. All of those Mario cameos are cute, but they just saturate and confuse the Mario universe to no end. One of Miyamoto's other creations, the Zelda series, is free of doofy cameos and edutainment titles. And let's face it, the series is really better off that way.
Now, enough of my incessant ramblings, let's hear more input...