I don't really have a strong view on systemd myself. Tbh, I probably don't
understand enough of what it does and how it differs from the alternatives to
be able to judge its merits.
From what I've read, the thing that concerns me the most is the potential
'lock-in' if it becomes a ubiquitous dependency for so many packages that we
don't have any choice but to use it.
However, if it does its job well and it's libre, then I don't really see a
major problem with it. Perhaps the reason so many distros are flocking to it
is that it's just superior to the alternatives? Perhaps we're looking at a
software case of 'survival of the fittest'? Otherwise, why else is everyone
flocking to it?
In terms of 'lock-in', that doesn't seem to be so different to (for example)
the standard C library or the linux kernel itself. We don't really have any
viable alternatives to those, do we? But, they do their jobs well, so we
don't care.
Seems like it probably isn't something that's worth my time or inconvenience
to fight against, tbh. *Shrug*