Neelix was annoying because his used car salesman with-a-heart-of-gold personality was completely wasted on the Starfleet crew

The whole point of his character in the first season was to act as a guide thru an unknown region, instead of becoming a boring cook, he should've become the Quark of Voyager, an opportunistic trader and part-time ambassador who would secure the goods but habitually set the b-plot into motion cause he got in over his head trying to acquire 6 months worth of fuel (and a sizable cut for himself) by selling one of the holodecks without the captains' knowledge