I know this was an abbreviated list, but Palhares is an unsung hero. Once he started finishing heel hooks with bridging, it replaced the old tech of vertical (or even horizontal, ughgh) finishes amongst the initiated. He also had a heelhook-centric game plan, which is what we see now in Nogi. He shook up ADCC. If he could've stopped ripping and tearing for just a damn minute, maybe he could've gone even higher.
Between his inversion abilities and ability to enter into 50/50, he was beating a lot of people, and they had no clue what was happening or why. I mean, if you think about it, it's crazy; he entered into a position that is of equal opportunity to both people, and kept on putting up consistent results. If that didn't show the overall low-level of understanding as to leg locks at the time (and positioning), I don't know what else would. I had hoped his entry into the MMA world would've been more fruitful, being a new Rousimar Palhares that didn't have the same trappings as, well, Rousimar Palhares. Alas, it didn't happen, and MMA will remain churlish and uneducated and never experience the true leglock enlightenment.
To be fair, he's the same guy who was doing this kind of shit. Why would you listen to him.
Also his system wasn't that hot. The entries were a hodgepodge of techniques that worked to varying degrees (from useful to no way in hell), and he had very little transitional work between positions. He showed options, but had no insight as to why one option was superior or inferior to the other. His saddle system is pretty much just him mapping the 4 configurations of the legs and how to hold that position in these configurations (though his descriptions are missing many of the important details present in today's day and age. Not necessarily his fault, but it's not like he has been teaching Eddie Cummings-level of knowledge on inside sankaku this whole time). He made a comprehensive collection of ideas/techniques/positions that existed at that time, which is noteworthy, but I don't think even if everyone had adopted his teachings it would've significantly pushed the game forward. On top of that, claiming to invent the saddle position (when it had existed and been practiced in Sambo for some time) soured a lot of people on him.
It's a valid point. We're in a world where the info is out in the wild, so it's not as important as who said it, so much as what is said.
However, in the future? I don't think you should keep a close eye for more groundbreaking leglock tech advancements from Danaher, whereas you probably should keep your eye on Eddie Cummings. Systematization of concepts, or being able to apply a concept logically throughout a system is one thing; creating concepts is another.