This is definitely better than SSJ 1-4.
The higher level SSJs were completely improvised, and were way beyond anything any Saiyan had done before...yet here you end up with 3 or 4 of them who can all do it now.

The EMS is just one powerup that will push Itachi back into the number 1 spot where he belonged since like, episode 5. He's been downplayed a lot since shippuuden started. Clearly, this was not improvised, as it finally explains the plothole that had been left since the first flashbacks of the Uchiha massacre. Remember when people used to complain about that?