According to Zahid al-Kawthari al-Ash'ari, not only did nearly every direct student of Imam Ahmad err in his aqeedah, but some of them (in particular, his son, Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal ) were labeled patrons of shirk and wathaniyya (statue-worship). In addition, Ibn Qudama was a mujassim, Ibn Khuzayma (one of the great early shafi'is), Ibn Abi Hatim, ad-Daraqutni, Imam al-Lailaka'i, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, al-Humaydi, Abu Bakr al-Khallal (the pivot and codifier of the Hanbali mad'hab)... The list goes on. Suffice it to say that this trait you dislike is certainly not exclusive to Salafis.