Libertad was OK, but it had Scott & Brendan's fingerprints all over it. Really not a big fan of Contraband, as you say, cheesy rock, but also just a horrible grating sounding album.
I never thought they were a particularly good fit for each other, Slash and Duff's style of songwriting doesn't mesh with Scott's at all, IMO. Scott is a very nuanced writer, everything Slash does is like being hit in the face with a brick, even the ballads.