I think Sanderson might be better at making up worlds and stories than he is at writing them down. The prose is too wordy, unnecessarily dragged out.

I don't have a word for what he is doing, but these novels are like the fantasy version of popcorn in a way: you keep coming for more, but you can't expect any real nutrition.
On the other hand, I do think the complex, thoroughly explored mechanics and world building place them above standard pulp.
It makes no pretense of being highbrow, either: it's just some action, albeit complex, designed to impress you with epic moments and predicable, schematic humor.

This book won't inspire you to change your life or drive you to ponder the nature of the human condition; it might, however, make you want to immerse yourself in this well-oiled mechanism of Sanderson's making.