I don’t know what others darktable users think, but my case was not as you describe.
I was bored of photography editing using other programs like CaptureOne or Lightroom, where you can only move slides. When I discovered darktable, I was amazed how much things you can do and control while developing a RAW file and how much to learn I still had. Thanks to darktable and this forum I have learnt a lot about photography and RAW development.
There are videos where you can learn how to fast develop images. For example: [EN] darktable 3.0 live - fast workflow for pros/time-constrained photographers - YouTube
And there is a very interesting thread, thanks to it I started to use massively shortcuts: Darktable speedrun: Stylish edits in 40 seconds
So I personally enjoyed the hours that I spent learning how darktable and the modules work and it made RAW development interesting and fun again for me. Now I have my default settings that I can adapt everytime for my taste 
If the default settings are so important for you, you can use LUTs, you can use the JPEG from the camera or you can use the old display referred workflow, maybe it fits better for you. Edit: or as @rvietor also said, you can use your own settings.
With a lot of power comes a lot of responsibility 