I understand it. I never liked windows moving to the database like registry for configs. But it is what it is type of thing. I might choose a distro because it still uses sysv and I already like freebsd so its a possibility for me to but I also like really easy and convenient distros I can install and go with. Generally im not really mucking about in those systems anyway except at a very high user level.
The thing coming closest to the Windows registry is Gnome’s GConf.
systemd also isn’t a monolithic blob. It would cause some work but you can individually replace the various systemd-related programs with own implementations. They all just communicate with each other, they’re not chained together.
Sorry I did not mean to say it was like the move to registry. More like I did not personally like and similarly am not wild about systemd myself. But ultimately it is with the flavors to decide what they are going to do and folks to use what they are gonna use. Again myself when it comes to install and go, im gonna use whatever works best for me and if thats distro with systemd then it is what it is.