If Angular has produced a local optima of efficiency in the range of "misguided attempts" then it's effect on the development ecosystem was a net positive.
That said, I am extremely concerned that most popular frameworks/libraries are products of megacorps.
That is in part due to the complexity of problems in frontend and that most companies don't need to solve those problems (or don't have the resources to solve them).
I think a more important reason would be that Facebook/Microsoft/Google media influence and corporate support creates massive brand awareness and generates instant interest. Educational projects anticipate the interest from developers and create courses, tutorials and reviews. The cycle continues and bam! we have an information cascade[0].
Rich get richer and poorer get poorer (in developer mindshare). Megacorps reap the benefits while indie developers are not able to achieve critical mass.
I shudder when I think about the possible Typescript/Microsoft, Angular/Google, React/Facebook domination in web technologies.
If Angular has produced a local optima of efficiency in the range of "misguided attempts" then it's effect on the development ecosystem was a net positive.
That said, I am extremely concerned that most popular frameworks/libraries are products of megacorps.