What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Imperius_Relampago]

The mighty Zodiark, which has been build up as this mighty(evil) entity over several expansions, turns out to be nothing but filler trash for the first Endwalker trial

He was actually a very big threat. If he was freed, the world would be in extreme jeopardy, as given all the other things that were going on; Hydaelyn's weakened state, the End of Days, the inhabitants of Etherys would've been wiped out. It became impossible to keep dragging out Zodiark's arc through an entire expansion, which wouldn't make sense considering every Ascian, aside from a heavily corrupted/fragmentated Fandaniel, was dead.

The true cause of the Final Days is a pet-project from an ancient which goes mad after observing countless dead world and possibly causing the death of several world by projecting negative emotions unto them, and is thus dead-set on bringing despair to every world, upon which said ancient goes mad and is now letting her run her course to test humanity if they can withstand/fight despair

It's stated that the worlds Meteion visited, the inhabitants were either long dead or coveting death. Meteion began exterminating races as a kindness. It's a good character, with solid motivations for doing what she did/was doing.

Venat, who hasn't had her memory wiped + still remembers you from being in Elpis, quite apparently doesn't lift a finger to learn about Dynamis herself or to mobilize the other ancients to end Meteion then and there

She didn't gamble with the inhabitants of the now Sundered world. We, the PC, had already travelled back in time and told her about the Sundered world's beauty and our adventures in said world. She knew the inhabitants could overcome despair because she met us. Hydaelyn knew of the events leading up to when we went back to the past, because we told her on the bridge in the sky. That's where he knowledge ends. From the moment we return to the present, Hydaelyn has no knowledge whatsoever about what comes next. This is why Hydaelyn fought us, to test both our strength and resolve, and to see that we, the inhabitants of Etherys, can survive on our own without her guiding hand.

Really?
This is the best SQ could do in terms of story after ShB?

I don't understand the worship of ShB. Bare in mind, I only started playing FFXIV on the 25th of September last year (So 3 and a half months ago) and I ran through the entire MSQs of all expansions (With Endwalker being around 2 days after release) and honestly ShBs seems the weakest to me. There was no "Oh shit" moment like in Heavensward when your character arrives on a battlefield atop a First Brood (Hraesvelgr), hops off it's back and calmly walks towards Nidhogg while everyone else ran away, showing the dichotomy of the Warrior of Light and ordinary people; They run away from danger and death whereas we run towards it.