This is unfair. If done appropriately, making a plane behave the way pilots expect should also make it safer. A "worse aircraft" with a better UI can actually be a safer aircraft.

Only so far as we can assume the UI never breaks and the sensors are always correct. The issue is pilots need to be trained to understand where the UI hides the underlying performance of the plane because when it breaks it can go wrong incredibly quickly. MCAS altered the way to aircraft reacted and also would restart it's changes unless completely cut out. Pilots didn't receive enough training to recognize the issue as being the MCAS system adjusting the trim fast enough to prevent the crashes during takeoff and ultimately the whole point of the MCAS was to avoid having to retrain and maintain the common type rating.