A pardon does not remove anything from your record. It is about forgiving, not expunging. As for civil rights (e.g. the rights to vote or the right to bear arms), they often are state matters and a federal pardon does not grant them back.

It is an empty gesture.

Pardon makes it possible/easier to have your record expunged. These pardons also effectively decriminalize possession at the federal level.

It's far from an empty gesture. But at the same time it is also a token, bare minimum gesture.

“They always tack on other charges.”

Yet it has less impact when there are other charges anyway. “But I was convicted of just 2 felonies not 3!”