One of the things I plan to do when the game comes back is to really get into masterminds more. I had a few but they never clicked for me, but it sounds like I might have had the wrong approach to playing. I suspect my handling of minions was pretty ham handed and ought to have a more subtle and thoughtful approach.
There are plenty of playstyles that will suit a MM, you just have to find the powersets that will cause you to enjoy that mix. I did pretty much every mix of powers just to see how things worked for myself. I didn't necessarily make it to lvl 32 with each type, but it is fun to try. (Yes, I'm an altoholic and I go to meetings, so there.)
My first MM was a dark / undead creation. Then robots. But eventually I made at least one of each type of minions, then when they newer powersets came out, I made new ones with those too. Another great thing about CoX, the fact they empowered us "altoholics" to be altoholics.
I found quite a bit of reading about "techniques" for playing MMs and in some cases I used those to great effect. Others I didn't bother with because they didn't fit my play style.
I really really loved being a Master Mind, regardless of powersets. Then, when good and evil came out, I brought MMs over to the hero side and the first thing I did was fly to the top of the Atlas statue for that badge and to get a screenshot with all my minions standing atop it. (My Thugs/Pain I believe)