For once, for one time in an RPG plot, I felt like I was at least on even footing with the antagonist for 3/4ths of the game.

Except it doesn't work very well in DA:I and undermines the villain entirely. You aren't on "even footing", you absolutely crush him at all point except one. He's more of an annoying obstacle than an actual threat, which is another issue with him.

Most RPGs in general have you starting as a nobody and through sheer luck and happenstance you are the only person who can save the world or really change it in any meaningful way.

But that's literally what happens in DA:I. You were the right person at the right time and through sheer luck did you acquire the ability to seal rifts (and in turn, denied the villain getting that, which could have possibly resulted in him becoming a God).

The only reason the Inquisition has even any legitimacy is because of you and what you can do. If you weren't at the temple at the start of the game, nothing would happen, and there is a good chance that the villain would (1) release another worldwide calamity or (2) receive his Godhood.

Furthermore, the enemy is not always ahead of you and in constant control only for you to find some Deus Ex Machina or some other plot device that suddenly puts you at eye-level with the antagonist at the end of the game like 90% of RPGs. You establish yourself as a threat early on and consistently outmanuever the enemy thanks to the work of the inquisition as a collective.

And the game suffers because of this again, since there is no threat. Which is even a bigger joke because they try to present the villain as one, but he presents no threat because he has next to no screentime and gets crushed at every turn. It's kind of unbelievable that he spent all these years amassing a huge army of cultists and then either recruited the a big number of mages or templars (both powerful in their own rights) but is unable to actually provide any sort of conflict for the Inquisition. You're basically cleaning up for him, and constantly foiling his plans, which in turns makes the villain comical because the game tries to represent him as dangerous.

I dunno.. I love the game for this. It broke Bioware's normal storytelling structure and really busted up normal RPG story structure. Tropes are definitely there, as always, but the game was a breath of fresh air for me.

Not sure what you mean, this is a pretty typical (Bioware) story. Except with a joke villain, bad pacing, and contrived plot points.