As someone who plays stall exclusively, I find the absence of SR has made the style 10 times more enjoyable, to the point where I can't imagine going back to the old meta-game after playing this one. It creates so much more freedom when choosing Pokemon, for one. An OU rain stall team used to feel like it built itself, and the need to minimize entry hazard damage (because stall requires constant switching) was a major part of that. Stealth Rock does not help stall anywhere near as much as offensive teams, because most SR weak Pokemon that tend to be used are the kind meant to come in once, often after another team mate has gone down, and do as much damage as possible before falling.
Spikes still exists, but is less useful to offensive teams for several reasons. Far fewer Pokemon learn it, and the ones that do tend to be more defensive, requiring a noticeable sacrifice in immediate power to run; it also takes multiple turns to maximize its effect, requiring a slow down in the pace of battle as well. Even with all 3 layers down, far many more Pokemon are immune to it, so the benefit of those 3 turns spent is often more ambiguous. My problem with SR is not so much that it's "broken" as it is too much benefit for too little effort, both in building the team and playing it.
