Well the truth is that most hip-hop "fans" don't know that much about hip-hop to start with, and are generally caught up more in the culture than the music, so I'm not too concerned about what most hop-hop "fans" think or how they judge an MC.
Earlier, you said "Will blew an opportunity to solidify himself as an mc no question about it," but I don't agree. Will has already solidified himself as an MC. What he blew was an opportunity to solidify himself as one in the eyes of those who have a skewed understanding of what an MC is. The real travesty would be for him to conform to the standards of those people, some of whom weren't even alive when Will and Jeff started doing their thing.
I think that sometimes, we get too caught up in what people think. I've long made peace with the fact that Will may never get the respect that he deserves in hip-hop, but I've also reminded myself that this doesn't change the fact that he does deserve respect.