Also liked Yes, ELP, Santana (while it was a band, not him), and Jefferson Airplane. Was ok with Zeppelin, but they weren't my favorite, and I hated the Who, even though they sat through our set at the Troubadour.
Not a drummer so I don’t have your insight but one of the reasons I like Band of Gypsies is precisely Buddy Miles’s drum playing! His playing was simpler in a good way, with less going on to distract from the groove. He was more like a Motown drummer than a jazz drummer.
Funny that you mentioned Vanilla Fudge. Their first album was maybe the greatest collections of covers ever made. Then Bogert and Appice teamed up with Jeff Beck to make a land mark album that I think was one of the real greats even though it isn’t remembered by many.