I love Audioslave. Of course I was a huge Rage fan. And if not for Audioslave I probably would not have gotten into Soundgarden. I didn't care for the grunge movement when it actually hit. Maybe I just have more angst now. :)
The 1st RATM album was good at it's time. I didn't really care for the messages in the lyrics but it was fresh and exciting. The subsequent albums were trash.
Audioslave is one of the most unimaginative and uncreative bands in mainstream music (and that's saying a lot). Glad you got into Soundgarden though!