Something about the new Ascian lore

[Seraphor]

It's interesting you put it like this because I interpreted the MSQ differently.

Hydaelyn, to me, seems like an aether leech at this point. ... [snip]

You might be trying to fit things into a hole you've already made, wanting Hydaelyn to be the villain and Zodiark the antihero.

Nothing we've seen suggest Hydaelyn requires or consumes aether, although that doesn't mean it's wrong, but it seems likely that Hydaelyn isn't as consuming as Zodiark whatever the details are.

At the end of the day, Zodiark is a death cult god, requiring living sacrifice to fulfill it's goals, and demanding servitude.
He tempers his subjects, who are compelled to carry out his will.
I'm pretty sure we do learn that Zodiark required more and more sacrifice, that people were not happy with, as this is the reason Hydaelyn was summoned in the first place.

Hydaelyn does not do this. Everything we know about those who summoned her, and her own words to us, are explicitly about free will. Her blessing does not come with conditions, and there's nothing stopping us from opposing her.
Hydaelyn was summoned on the basis of freedom against the tyranny (direct or indirect) of Zodiark, and there's no indication that's a false narrative.

Seems to me that the sundering into 14 shards, and possibly the creation of the lifestream, was not only to effectively neutralise Zodiark, but also to allow Hydaelyn to exist without drawing upon living aether. As self-sufficient, or 'renewable' source of aether perhaps.
Not sure where this 'Zodiark created the lifestream' idea came from.

Remember, primals embody the characteristics of their summoning.
Zodiark was summoned by a group of dictatorial rulers, as a tyrant, imposing his will upon others via tempering, and requires sacrifice for power.
Hydaelyn was summoned by dissidents, as a paragon of free will, and requires nothing from her wards but the will to uphold her ideals.
That's pretty much all you need to know, everything else is just flavour.