Don't you think it's striking that the most Castlevania-ish title in the Lords of Shadow series was one that Mercurysteam had to make because the real sequel to Lords of Shadow wasn't ready? I think that's a bit telling.
Heck, wasn't there a previous post in this very thread previously where the Spainish director dude was complaining about having to change shit to suit fans and regretting it? LoS 2 probably would have been more 'in name only' than Lords1 would have been if he'd gotten his way.
But see, I look at LoS as a Frankenstein Monster that can be interpreted in two ways that technically aren't wrong. You can argue it isn't 'Castlevania' and be right, but you can defend it's 'Castlevania' and still be right. There is enough wrong with it where it's so vastly different from the original where and does come off more like "the movie of the game, the game". But if you're deranged like I can get, I see it like this:
Lord1 = movie-esque retelling of Lament except Zozo is Mathias, Satan is Death and Gabe is. Leon...who happens to turn into Dracula.
Mirror = a more 'castlevania' feeling mash of Castlevania 1 and 3, with metroidvania like gameplay.
Lord2 = the 1999 game where Soma (or Dracula as a good guy, just go with the basic thought on this one) is the good guy. And looks hotter. And shows sexy chest.
See? Tilt your head and believe--it works. And if you can't, just take Castlevania out of the title and it's not hard to see in the veins of a game like Legacy of Kain as it's own vampire tale. Both sides win!