Positional players before Karpov's era?

Players are sometimes categorised as positional, tactical or universal, depending on the type of games or positions they feel most at home in. From the era before Karpov, it seems that the following players are usually described as positional: Wilhelm Steinitz, Akiba Rubinstein, Aron Nimzowitsch, José Raúl Capablanca, Vasily Smyslov and Tigran Petrosian.

One source included Miguel Najdorf in his later years (as opposed to his early years). Some also include Samuel Reshevsky and Mikhail Botvinnik.

Are any notable names missing? Should some even be excluded? (If yes, why?)

i guess you can add to your list siegbert tarrasch and carl schlechter

also i don't feel like smyslov is as positional as others

It's been too long since I looked at games by Tarrasch or Schlechter, probably since reading Theo Schuster's Unvergessene Schachpartien as a teenager.

Would you consider Smyslov a "universal player", like Spassky?

yeah smyslov play feels universal, but leans to positional a little so not as much as spassky

Steinitz, the first World Champion, was the "father" of positional chess; he transformed chess from "romantic" attacking style to scientific positional play. Capablanca, the so-called "Human Chess Machine", is considered one of the most naturally gifted positional players ever. Rubinstein, who never became WCC, had an exceptional positional sense and endgame mastery. Nimzowitsch, the author of "My System", developed "hypermodern" positional concepts (overprotection, blockade, prophylaxis, etc.). Petrosian, the "Iron Tiger", was the direct predecessor to Karpov's style. Other notable positional players are: Tarrasch, Schlechter, Smyslov ("universal" player with strong positional learnings), Botvinnik (famous for his scientific approach to positional play), Reshevsky (he had a strong positional understanding), and Najdorf (in his later years). These players laid the groundwork that Karpov would later perfect. Ciao

Tigran Petrosian, for sure.