Symbiotes were cooler when they were just a living costume that could communicate with the host, but we didn't know what they were saying or how they communicated.

Everyone talks about the KLYNTAR and KNULL retcons, but honestly I think the simple way they've been portrayed alone takes a lot away from the coolness/creepiness, by further anthropomorphizing them to the point they're basically just people who swallow up other more solid people