How much say do/did guys like Nicklaus and Palmer have on their courses design?

They had a ton of influence. Their styles are pretty easy to spot from the shape of par 4s (Jack hit a cut and Palmer hit a draw and it shows in their preferred doglegs) and where the par 3s and par 5s are as you play.

In the grand scheme they have little to do with the actual design. They have a team or architects that do the actual work. Nicklaus might visit a site one or twice in the process, Player sometimes never visited the site.

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For example Justin Thomas just helped design Panther National. Did he actually have legitimate input on the course or was he as involved in the design as George Foreman was with the grill?

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Thomas was asked that question when he played Grant Horvat on youtube. He had nothing to do with it

If they tell a designing partner what they want on each hole, from the shape, to the trees, to the grass types on the greens, the slopes on the greens… how much credit do they get? When someone builds a custom home and asks for specifics, an architect makes it happen to their wants. Think of it that way.

Pinehurst #9 was designed by Jack. It’s the only green with bent. They wanted to change it to match the other courses and Jack told them if they ever did to take his name off of it. So yes, he was pretty involved in many major decisions.

Jack knows every hole at Muirfield as well as he knows the lines on his hand. Doubt he knows much about half the courses he designed, though. He built a lot of courses, and people were paying for the name & label, aka signature golf course and varying levels of involvement. Justin might have had quite a bit of involvement with the design since it's not a business for him yet.