Is there anything meaningful/gratifying to do in this game that's not MSQ?

[Penthea]

So I'm currently going through the Heavensward MSQ

skipping every cutscene because, let's be honest, it's more of the same

You couldn't be more wrong. The ARR story is badly told but the HW story is widely hailed as a masterpiece. It really is not more of the same. Far from it. But you don't know because you're skipping the cutscenes.

I'm not even going to bother deconstructing the rest of your post. You appear to have a strong distaste for working through a story, and the vast majority of content in this game has story attached. Even crafting and gathering quests. If you can't even deal with the MSQ story then I honestly recommend you play something else.