Persona games are definitely on a higher tier than Danganronpa, but I also wouldn't call them nearly as outlandish or quirky as Danganronpa games. The pink blood alone should tell you that Danganronpa is willing to sacrifice what should be a serious situation for its quirky style, and that's how they want it, regardless if it is off-putting to a subset of people. Not that they don't acknowledged how screwed up the situation is, but the "enjoyment" of the plot is more often derived from the thrills rather than the chills.

The games rarely try to evoke a sad response, I wouldn't even say that it's the primary thing they're trying to accomplish. There's a lot of intrigue and mystery, twists, lunacy and creativity that make up for the lack of emotional attachment. It's in these aspects that the DR2 cast is superior IMO, and definitely decent if not better overall. For example the motive in Chapter 2 of DR2 is just a normal revenge plot, but the reason it's interesting is because of how it's presented through a video game. It's simple, but you can still latch onto it because it's creative in other ways.

Also, the potential to be better doesn't make it mediocre or bad by deault. It can still be good and have more potential. You say it's silly to settle for something that could be improved, but I'd say the opposite is a lot sillier since you can always find flaws and/or ways to improve something, hence you'd never be satisfied with that mentality.