No, I don't think so. For any purpose other than all-out racing (and geeky people who actually love tinkering with their bikes for fun), derailleurs are indeed pretty crappy.
Consider the situation with cars: what passes for acceptable in racing cars (e.g. straight cut non-synchro gears, no starter motor, etc) would be unthinkable in a road car but a small weight or power advantage makes sense in racing where absolute performance outweighs every other factor, such as usability and reliability.
Unfortunately, because most of the bike tech we use was developed for racing rather than everyday use, derailleurs are far more commonly used than they should be. For commuters and utility users, they make no sense at all.