1. Attention to a word's synonyms. Bauer does almost nothing with this.
For this one needs to go either to Louw and Nida, or to Thayer. Thayer is
actually superior to either one on this score most of the time, because
he summarizes the results of Schmidt's Synonymik and other foundational
works, which BAGD does not even seem aware of. In addition, Thayer
conveniently lays out a word's synonyms at the conclusion of the article,
with cross-references to these discussions in the articles of related
words, and references to the fuller discussion in the standard works.
Very user friendly.
2. Significance of middle forms. Bauer consistently minimalizes the
significance of the distinction between active and middle. Sometimes it
can be downright misleading, as for instance in the entry for tithemi,
where if memory serves he cites Blass and Robertson as authorities for his
assertion of no difference in meaning between the active and middle,
although both Blass and Robertson say quite the opposite! Thayer offers
an alternative view in such cases.
Jim Ware