(I was just about to go to bed...)

OK, so, start with the basics. There were several different types of Apollo missions, each with different goals and mission profiles, with slightly different equipment/vehicle designs to achieve them. Mission types follow an alphabetical progression from A through J, Apollo 11 was a G-type mission (initial landing); Apollo 12, 13, and 14 were H-type missions which focused on precision landings and actual lunar exploration; Apollo 15, 16, and 17 were J-type missions focused on extensive scientific study of the Moon with extended duration stays and greater surface operational capabilities (including the use of the lunar rovers). The I-type missions were originally focused for lunar surveys (photography) from orbit but those capabilities were rolled into the J-type missions.

As the program went on various efficiencies were found, equipment was improved, margins were determined more accurately, etc, and in the process this made it possible to squeeze more out of the missions. Also, experience with operating on the lunar surface gave greater confidence in what was possible and what the astronauts could get done. The first landing saw only one surface EVA of just two and a half hours with some very tentative walking around, sample collecting, and instrument placements. The entire Apollo 11 extent of surface excursions fits inside of a soccer field, for example. By the H-type missions they were able to kick things up a notch, performing two separate EVAs, each around 4 to 5 hours, and traversed up to a kilometer away from the lander with a total distance traveled of 3.5 kilometers. The H-type missions also deployed the "ALSEP" (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package) instruments on the surface. These were a suite of different instruments connected to an RTG power source which would continue to collect and return scientific data after the astronauts left. Spread out across the surface and with a variety of deployment mechanisms the astronauts employed while placing them the ALSEP instruments collected a wide variety of data on the Moon and on the space environment (seismic data was key, charged particle data, solar wind data, and magnetic field data was also commonly collected). These provided a wealth of data up through 1977, some of which led to profound insights into the structure and dynamics of the Moon (such as the internal structure of the Moon).

The J-type missions were where the real science of lunar exploration was going to be done, however. That was where the extensive field training by geologists of the Apollo astronauts would produce results. These missions spent a full 3 days on the Moon, with a full 7+ hour workday of surface EVAs each day (totaling about 20 hours of Moon walking through each mission). Surface operations spread over a scope of several kilometers, with between around 25 to 35 kilometers traveled (through the aid of the rover). These missions saw the greatest collection of lunar samples from the greatest diversity of locations. On average, the J-type missions collected more than 2x as much sample mass as the H-type missions, and Apollo 17 alone returned more sample mass than all of the G and H-type missions together. These missions also collected sub-surface samples using drills including several deep drill cores several meters in length. These missions collected some of the most interesting and unique lunar samples, including pieces of the original 4.5 billion year old lunar crust as well as one rock that seems to contain a bit of 4 billion year old Earth rock that got blasted into space and hit the Moon (among many other fascinating samples). The surface experiments and returned samples from the J-type missions fueled a truly astounding amount of scientific research and an incredible advancement in our understanding of the Moon's geology, environment, and history. Apollo 17 specifically also conducted the most extensive, detailed, and systematic photography of the landing sites and the Moon from orbit of any of the Apollo missions.

So, yes, on the whole the improvements NASA came up with for the Apollo missions worked out very well, including the lunar rover. The missions all represented a progressive increase of capabilities and results mission to mission and especially type to type. There was a huge variety of individual experiments and equipment however, not all of it of equal value or functionality. A few of the experiments were of minimal value, and some failed (for example, the Lunar Surface Gravimeter), but most of them worked well and provided a cornucopia of data.