I feel that he should have been involved more in the DragonBall story; He is in my opinion a very cool character, I liked him alot and I felt that he should have gotten top billing alongside goku and vegeta, I definitely feel that the rivalry between him and vegeta would have been another epic scenario to explore, given how much he was enraged with him due to his actions when he was a bad guy, His character developed from being a bitter rival of goku to being a friend and ally of his was compelling to watch and it would've been fun as hell to see him face off against marjin vegeta and him getting that same level of power From babidi's spell due to the darkness and rage he has in his heart towards wanting to kill vegeta for all the wrong he's done which would have compelled him to want to become a saiyan from a wish granted by the dragon balls; that battle between him and tien as a super saiyan 2 would have been badass as hell, I also feel that he would have been a lot stronger and possibly be at the same level of strength and power as goku and even his son gohan due to the fact that he is just as committed to training and practicing martial arts as goku is! 💯🔥😁😉👍
NGL, Toriyama could have done the latter saiyan saga fights FAR better. Have Yamcha survive the Saibaman, only to get one-shotted by Nappa. Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien holding their own vs Nappa until Tien loses an arm. Have Chiaotzu really hurt Nappa with his self-destruct. Have Tien's one-armed Tribeam apparently kill Nappa. Then Goku arrives, and while everyone is focused on Vegeta and Goku, Nappa wakes up and attacks Gohan, causing Piccolo's death. It could have been an epic stand instead of a one-sided beatdown. Likewise, giving Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha someone to fight and overcome, and not just mooks, but full 2nd-/3rd-tier enemy or enemies, in the Android and Buu arcs would have been great. And not the whole "oh, humans are just too weak and can never compete with saiyans, despite being a million times stronger than any saiyan from before the past 4 years".
Tien actually more versatile than this. He even do kamehameha. 20 years of traning and he got no new skill and no improvement. It so not him. I dont even like how he easily defeated by Nappa.
