Did shenanigins really get worse?

Of course fairies are. They're the same thing as potions (and they're harder to get to in Skyward Sword). Hearts aren't dropped by ANYTHING by default. The Heart Medal makes hearts drop at the same rate as having the Heart Medal in the original playthrough. It's kind of cheating to use that if you ask me. :X

If they didn't want players using it then they would've disabled it or some pomegranate.