You can like or dislike John Doyle's playing. There's no accounting for taste.

However, pertinent to this thread is that John Doyle is not an accompanist. He does not accompany. He does not play behind people, he plays "with" them, equally.

I really enjoy the duo of Liz Carroll and John Doyle. Master fiddle player Liz Carroll does not need or want an accompanist. She does not "need" a collaborator, but she likes it.

A friend of mine, someone else who's not keen on John Doyle's playing, complains he prefers Liz Carroll's playing when she's not with John Doyle. That's fair enough, but the important point is that it acknowledges that as a duo, they affect each other's playing. They are both different without each other.