[joeyCanada]

So I think the Mahayana must be given a lot of credit for giving the Emptiness teachings a strong emphasis.

Yes, and also within the Mahayana philosophy sometimes we can find a not very healthy tendency to turn around this concept which essentially, pointing toward the understanding of non-self, can lead to a dangerous kind of "nothingness" leading people to odd thoughts such as "there is no wrong of bad..." which in turn gives a wrong understanding of things and human facts.