Great work, Eyetim9! The main buds off my NL#3 aren't very dense either, after the dry. The smell is sort of a dank maple syrup or something like that. That may change during the cure though because I've noticed some of the less dense popcorns that dried out more and faster seem to have more of a lemony pine aroma, much more a typical weed smell than the bigger buds getting cured.
The potency issue now could be that you built up a tolerance because you're smoking more than usual.
I went a week without smoking and then rolled a big fat Afghan joint when I could smoke again and it knocked me on my arse. I slept for 12 hours. Normally I can chain smoke them.