People talk about Malmsteen's sweeping too much cuz he was a pioneer of this technique back in time , just as Van Halen pioneered tapping... Now both seem lame , but this doesn't diminish their major role in spreading their techniques and influencing following generations.

And yeah bro , the thing I hate most about Malmsteen too is repetition , those ultra-boring diminished 3 string sweeps in every song , the harmonic minor scale , the pedal notes , etc. .
But I still respect him for the same reason , cuz he never sells out , and he always had it his own way no matter what.
I heard that he turned down an offer from Ozzy, to concentrate on his first solo album project which was "Rising Force". (not deadsure of that)