Ok that's a lot to read but I want to add a few things.
The base idea of QF was never to fix the game. It was pretty obvious that it is impossible to fix with only configs from the get go. So the idea behind it was to simply make it less terrible with the tools we have (aka the configs) and turn it again into a state where it is somewhat playable and less annoying to deal with. It was not just about balancing the game. It literally started with throwing shit to the wall and seeing what sticks. I know it was all a long time ago and people don't even remember everything that changed but trust me it overall got a lot better. It was a basic sanity check for mechanics overall.
I would even go as far as saying that it succeeded in a way because it uncovered a huge amount of bugs and mechanics that don't work as intended which were limiting different attempts on balance completely from the get go. I also would argue that it also somehow paved the way that updates now are community driven.
