I'm a huge fan as you can see from elsewhere in the thread, but they actually kind of weren't. At least, they weren't particularly virtuosic musicians. Which I think led them to be ultimately more interesting and adventurous.
I think we agree…
They unlocked something as a band where the musical sum is greater than the individual parts, which makes them special.
Waters was an average bass player (but outstanding lyricist) and Mason I guess was an average drummer but they weren't really writing tempo-based pieces.
Do agree though that their sum was greater than their parts (but their parts weren't too shabby).