Yahoo Co-Founder Jerry Yang has always championed the company’s independency to the point of being an obstructionist. Now that he has resigned from his position as an officer and director of the company after the close Tuesday, newly appointed CEO Scott Thompson can unreservedly make new decisions for its online advertising competition with Google and Facebook.

“He’s been perceived to be an impediment to change,” Moran said of Yang. “The founder has left, so even though Thompson is new, he is more in control today than yesterday,”, says Benchmark Co. analyst Clayton Moran who is based in Del Ray Beach, Florida, and has a “hold” rating on Yahoo.

Yahoo can also freely decide to uncoil the company from its ownership of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. and Yahoo Japan Corp. since Yang’s leaving his position in those companies as well. For the most part, Yang was chucked off because of his failure to secure a buyer or negotiate a sale of Asian stakes worth $10 billion.

Yang was also one of the proponents that led Yahoo to refuse Microsoft’s buyout of $33 a share last 2008 because it was “too low.” It could even be considered one of the most imprudent corporate board decisions ever. Eventually, Yahoo has considered strategic options that suggested buyouts in the last few months, but Yang was firm that the company should stay independent.

Yang’s contributions precede him

Nonetheless, Yang helped create the world’s most popular websites with a market capitalization of greater than $100 billion, though its decline was almost imminent after Google and Facebook poached its search-advertising market. This whole situation, as SiliconAngle founder John Furrier puts it, “must be painful for Jerry since Yahoo could have bought Facebook for $700m only a few years ago.”

Here are thoughts from some of the industry’s pundits (courtesy of Forbes):

• Scott Kessler, Standard & Poor’s: “Yang helped found YHOO in ’95 and we think he is a visionary who built an Internet icon with global reach and impact,” he writes. “However, more recently as CEO, Yang was not able to seize upon operational and M&A opportunities as some might have hoped/expected, in our view. We think his stepping away is constructive for efforts to realize greater shareholder value.”

• Jordan Rohan, Stifel Nicolas: “From a shareholder perspective, we believe this resignation increases the chances of an outright sale of the company, even if it happens in two stages, with the cash-rich split-off of Asian assets first,” he writes. “While this step may be seen as a positive, we believe a complete re-composition of the board may be underway and expect additional changes.”

• Heath Terry, Goldman Sachs: “We view the announcement as a positive signal that Yahoo is preparing to take the necessary steps to recognize the value of its Asian assets,” Terry writes. “While Yang’s departure removes one hurdle in the long running strategic review of the company’s options, tax issues, eventual asset repatriation, deal structure, and future management direction remain significant barriers to shareholders reaching the full value of these assets.” He adds that turning around the core business is going to be challenging. “The company continues to lose traffic share in many of its most profitable segments, talent departures are ongoing, and Yahoo lags behind in all of the major growth areas of the Internet. While new CEO Scott Thompson is likely among the best options Yahoo had, in the near to medium term we believe the structural and secular headwinds the company faces are too severe to overcome.”

• Ken Sena, Evercore Partners: “View the resignation announcement as a positive as his departure reduces the amount of obstacles (perceived or otherwise) at the Board level to a potential full or partial sale of the company, despite his founding role,” he writes. “We are cautious on what the announcement means for a near/term deal, however, as we surmise his departure to offer a ‘pound of flesh’ for the Board’s failure to consummate a deal to date more than a ‘green light’ on a prospective deal imminent to occur.”

• Daniel Salmon, BMO Group: “While changes at the board were not surprising, the resignation of the Yahoo!’s co-founder comes abruptly,” he writes in a research note. “We believe the most important near-term impact is a much lower likelihood of an extended proxy fight. It also creates the opportunity for new CEO Scott Thompson to better establish his operating culture. Investor questions about meaningful board change have been answered to a large extent, but more changes are likely to come; nominations for directors can be submitted until late February.” He adds that “Yang’s resignation from the boards of Alibaba and Yahoo Japan should disencumber negotiations around a potential deal for those assets, a positive for the stock. And notwithstanding the addition of new CEO Thompson and presumed down-tick in likelihood of a minority investment or outright sale, today’s announcement ticks in the other direction.”