I suppose "interested in" is a qualitative judgement, and perhaps it should be revisited. The reason that was put there was because users are always clamoring for ways to decide whom to follow. The thinking was that it would be easier to find other users that might share similar interests. But I know you and I tend to agree that making things easier doesn't make the site better, and may in some cases actually make it worse.
"Recent shares" and "recent comments" pretty much covers the spectrum, though, doesn't it? You can see what I clicked on 25 deep. That pretty much shows what I participated in as opposed to interested in. It might be as simple as that one word - my participation doesn't necessary mirror my interest. By saying it's something I'm "interested in" you imply that I endorse these things. Far more useful to show what stuff I've tagged recently. Then you can see what I'm actually submitting.