NC cigars have taken hold since the revolution. Aging them is a relatively (to cubans) new thing.
Over time, things can change. Logic says that there will be "winners" over time that get much better with age.
I smoked a 25 year old Funete that was to die for, rivaling anything from our favorite island.
One significant issue is "what you Like" as it relates to "how you smoke". SO many NC cigars are blended with a strength that appeals to mouth smokers.
Its only been in the past 5-6 years that we ahve seen lines blended to appeal to the Nasal exhalers. (Tatue for example)
Many/most Cuban cigar smokers do a partial to full nasal exhale.
Personally I think that many well made NC cigars will over time become sublime in ways similar to cuban cigars. Might take additional time based upon the blends but father time catches up with all rolled up weeds at some point.
Specific to the OP question..... short time frames do not create empirical data... 1-2-4 years is a time frame that does not do justice to the question.
The key term being well made cigars. Crap will always be crap... just older.
Looking forward to smoking padron anniversario 26 and 64's that are 20+ years old.