growth of minigames and immersion

I know these are a few examples of minigames become more pivotal to a game’s over all experience, but for the most part the highlight the growth of the concept. As in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, it is no longer “the thief character picked that lock” now it is “I picked that lock and I get the treasure.” While the player is being given more responsibility of the character’s actions and behavior, there are plenty of instances where the minigame is not fun, as in Fable 2, or does not properly fit with the game, as in Bioshock. I am not arguing that every little aspect of a game needs to be micromanaged by a minigame. Would Left 4 Dead benefit from having a quick time event to pick up an incapacitated character rather than the load time? No, no it would not. It would break the game and make it far more difficult to help someone to their feet since enemies already make it difficult enough. The time it takes to get an incapacitated ally back up is time the special infected get to set up another attack. It seems that the most successful examples of the minigame are used to increase interactivity of passive events are still secondary aspects of the game. And to be honest, it probably should stay that way. I enjoy the mundane and passive tasks being made into a more enjoyable and active task. However, not everything in a game needs to be micromanaged.