I would. And it was a disaster and is a big part of what got Megan fired, Jill deposed and Guza brought back. They deserved it!
Yes, Jax had story, technically, but it was all third-tier shít with characters Guza didn't care about. It was 1-2 day a week stuff. Once Brenda left that was his role until Laura Wright, and even when Brenda was back he was played as the do-gooder third wheel in her life vs. Sonny and Jason. Yes, Brenda still loved him but the focus was not on him in that material at all IMO.
There was also that lull between stories where they just said 'oh, he's seeing hookers.' What? They wouldn't do that to a leading man they cared about (other than Luke, which was a different story). It was like Billy Warlock's A.J.'s years on the show - he had romances, but would anyone say they cared about him? Much of 2000s Jax was just demeaned and an afterthought, with the recurring exception of his time with Carly.
I think Luke/Skye happened because they were struggling to find something to do with Luke at the time to ground him, and Jill eagerly stepped into the vacuum with one of her favorite FOJs of all time: Robin Christopher. In this instance her favoritism served their needs. But once they hit on pairing him with Jane Elliot that went out the window, as it should have.