Unfortunately, the main storyline never gets any better. It actually gets worse as it progresses and the inconsistencies in the timeline start to really make themselves known (the dragon-creation segment and final confrontation are both pretty good though). The exploration aspects also start to lose their luster around the point you reach the desert area, making the final stretch something of a slog.
Note that if you plan on doing a NG+ it would be a good idea to get all the Lords of the Land up to level 11 or so (the increased treasure rarity boon) so that you have enough Grade available to cover all the item/skill/stat importation options and have a decent amount left over for some enhancements.
As for the Alisha DLC… well, it mostly consists of a lengthy ruin exploration (12 floors) that would be completely insufferable were it not for the Increased Movement Speed Boon. It’s still pretty annoying and the experience is capped off with a gimmicky boss fight where you have to kill both creatures at the same time to win. Storyline-wise it’s less an epilogue and more a continuation, seeing as how it goes and resurrects someone only to leave their plot-thread dangling with a ‘to be continued’. At least the character interactions it contains are pretty good.