Its a process of evolution really.
People say ABD was better back in 'the day'. What they really mean is that there was no metagame and people had to improv a lot of stuff.
So yes, ABD is not what it used to be. Is it worse? No.

Look at League of Legends. 'Back in the day', everyone played adc on all lanes or whatever, because nobody knew how to play efficiently. Over time, through natural selection, the current meta evolved and dominated.
You don't have to follow the meta, but if you don't you will probably lose.
This also makes you wonder why people complain about meta so much: if they really wanted to win they'd adhere to it or develop it. Otherwise why the hell are you moaning?

Returning to the original posts question: are there better mods which have less cheesing?
The answer is no, every mod has cheese, because natural selection develops its own metagame. When two players are playing to win, the winner shouldn't be abused for using a cheap move. It's not like the other guy somehow started the match with a special rule from hampa saying he can't kick or rush or run or whatever it was that lost him the match.

In my opinion nograb mods are actually worse because there is no effective counterplay to a run + camp strategy; its a stagnant meta, there's no room for competitive development. That's why I always want new features to be added to this game, I enjoy seeing metas develop and change over time.

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Actually speaking about metas and ABD, I personally think the ABD meta is the best from all the 'popular' mods. There is actually no opener or move that doesn't have at least one counter. If you can think of one, tell me please.