Lmao i think he is alright it's normal trend to downplay marimo even by some of his fans due to the collective gaslighting from other fanbases to keep him in check until Loda makes rooftop 2.0

If you were here during wano when zoro was on generational run you would witness unimaginable levels of insecurity they would cling on to anything for dear life just to diminish his feats. There will be another similar meltdown soon when he starts crossing paths with top tier on regular basis
I don't think I downplay him.
I wish Zoro >= Luffy > Sanji was true. Dude's role is "fighter" of the crew. Literally that's what he's there for. He dreams of becoming the strongest. During conception, he was clearly intended as another MC (confirmed by oda even), basically "serious Luffy" who is more strength driven.
If he can't be the best combatant or at least co-best of the crew, IMO it's just disrespectful.
In another story, maybe he could've been that.
Unfortunately, Oda is a massive MC dick rider, even by shounen standards. Luffy becoming the chosen one, and imu getting PTSD from Joyboy (ancient Luffy) should make the direction he's going quite clear. Plus, dude is threatened by Zoro's popularity. I think the sabotage of Zoro's plotlines in Wano was intentional lol, call me crazy IDC.
The best he will do is, make Zoro comparable to Luffy in certain parts of the story - like right out of TS or rooftop. But then soon enough, he will give Luffy multiple powerups, just to ensure the readers won't get the wrong idea for long. Then he even had the colour spread where Zoro is mentioned as the 2nd strongest...
Oda won't make Zoro "look bad", cause at this point dude is just downgraded to aura farmer. Losing even that would end the character. But make no mistake about his position, in a manga that is forcing the golden boi/chosen one down our throats