Tennant and Smith rarely ever made covert references to their past regens but they still felt like the same guy, only the face was different.
I don't know if I agree with that. I can see how Tennant and Eccelston were the same person because there was this gradual change to Tennant as he found himself that felt like the Doctor was relearning how to be himself again after the trauma he faced. But Smith's doctor was so cartoony that he stands out dramatically different to me.
My critique for Jodi's Doctor is that they are writing her to be as safe as possible so she hasn't developed any flavor of her own. It feels a lot of times she's a weird mash of Smith and Tennant's takes.