To be honest, I think both Zoro and Sanji did fine this arc. Fanbases will always compete but I don't think it diminishes their actual accomplishments in the manga. Zoro didn't accomplish all he wanted but he still did great. Sanji doesn't come into arcs with strength-related goals, he simply does what's needed of him in the moment that he's capable of and he did that wonderfully by saving Momo then Chopper and by defeating Queen (without the use of his Raid Suit) to help the alliance.
Seems weird though to hype up a theory up for so long, give up on it for the most part (I was always on the fence regarding ZKK personally so what happens from here on out is fine either way) then immediately go to bashing a different character for expectations that were placed on him by some of his fanbase (some of those Sanji expectations, I've never read since I came to this forum but I'll take your word for it that one random Sanji fan said it 3 years ago or something).