This show was truly better than its near-clone Little House on the Prarie

[Best Man]

Almost everyone on The Waltons beats their LHOTP counterparts in most ways! The acting was more faultless on the Waltons.
I'll do a little run down.

1)Ralph Waite VS Michael Landon: Truthfully, Landon was a very good actor in putting on emotions only.
But he seemed to play all his characters the same (all right Little Joe on Bonanza was more reserved than Charles or that Angel Smith but overall the three were very much the same). And after a while Charles was very predictable (but never tiring). Also, Landon made Charles a somewhat unrealistic 19th century married macho stud. Ralph Waite nevert tried to put on any overly macho airs as John Walton (even though to try in the Clark Gable era of the 30's would have been more credible).
Ralph Waite also on the other hand though on the surface he seemed more one note as an actor (judging by his work in like the Paul Newman classic film Cool Hand Luke) was better somehow as he was much more full of surprises. He wasn't really predictable at all. It was very much the way he played John Walton!

2)Michael Learned VS Karen Grassle: Grassle was solidly good as Caroline Ingalls but that was it. Her performance was not as emmy award winning in calibre and/ nor as deep as Learned was as Olivia Walton. And its been pointed out on the internet that Grassle was terrible trying to be Caroline as a school teacher (probably the reason that aspect of her character was very soon dropped only very briefly revived in ep Stone Soup)).

3)Joe Conley VS Richard Bull: Ike Godsey like John Walton was better than his LHOTP store owner competition for the same reason--- he was full of surprises. Bull's Nels Olson was mostly predictable (and, unlike Charles, debatably tiring to watch)outside of a very rare moment of toughness. And while I give Bull credit for playing his henpecked character with some backbone Conley demonstrated this even more and a good deal better with Ike still strong while married to the tough but still likable Cora Beth.