For me, its the other way around.
After Senna's death, I stopped watching F1. I got back into it for a little while Michael Schumacher was at Ferrari but lost interest pretty quickly with the way Ferrari dominated during that time.
Regarding your question, I think there are several key aspects to providing an answer.
The first relates to opponents. Ayrton Senna raced against better drivers: Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, and Nigel Wilson were all world champions. Crucially, and unlike Schumacher, there were no contractual clauses that prohibited a team mate from racing Senna. There is aboslutely no way any of the drivers mentioned in this paragraph would ever have agreed to such a contract.
With Schumacher, neither Rubens Barichello or Eddie Irvine were permitted to race him and there were times when they refused to let him pass and won a race and it caused huge controversies. Schumacher was dominant because Ferrari were at the height of their powers. The only person that could maybe have tried to put in challenge was his teammate but they were contractually prohibited from racing him.
I think the second important point was the technology. If you look at any videos on youtube of Senna racing, you will see that he literally fights with and grapples with the car every step of the way. Look at any videos of him qualifying in Monaco - its fucking insane! Or racing generally from the cockpit and you will see how busy he is in the cockpit and how raw the racing was. There were less driver aids and technology. All you have to do is look at the steering wheel of his car in comparison to today's for the part that technology plays in today's racing. Personally, I think it compensates for the short comings of today's drivers.
If you want a great illustration of this, look up on Youtube, Ayrton Senna, 1990 qualifying Monaco Grand Prix. It will blow you away. I tried to include a link but it did not work. I have to say that when I see him drive and hear that McLaren, I today, it still gives me a complete hardon.
The cars were also vastly different in terms of manual gear boxes and power units (horsepower). It's kind of funny, I always think of the Top Gear episode when Hamilton got to drive Senne's McLaren and he cooes and giggles like a little kid (link provided below). I think maybe Senna would have been a little bored driving today's cars because of the drivers aids and the fact they would neutralise his driving ability. However, I do think he would have been interested in the cars on a mechanical technological level.
Was he really that good? Quite frankly, "good" does not even come close to describing him. If you want confirmation, look for highlights of Brazil 1991 when he lost 3rd and 4th gears and by the end of the race only had neutral and 6th gear and he still managed to win the race. On the podium of that race, he was so exhausted, he could not lift the winner's trophy from having to grapple the car around the circuit. Also, look at Donnington in 1993 when he started from the back of the grid in the rain and was in first place by the end of the first lap. He won that race and lapped most (if not all the field - I can't quite remember).
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As for what happened at Imola on 1 May 1994, that is perhaps a story for another post. I do not want to write about it right now.
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