Yes but the metagame of Smash Ult is only a few months old, so some of those conclusions may be a bit early no?
Also at no point of Sm4sh's life did it ever feel like Melee. I've had Ult give me vibes a NUMBER of times, but 4..? No. Step up from Brawl or not, that was still a meta that rewarded defensive play above all else.
Also, Lucina isn't just, carry you good either. Sm4sh Bayo, Cloud and Diddy were. Leffen and Armada were able to do VERY well with Diddy despite having no clue about the game and basically having just picked it up at the time. From my experience at locals thus far, Lucina won't be a pick that simply carries you. She's very good, but she has nothing on Sm4sh top tiers. They were busted. Skill to use or not, no character should be SO good that the skill required to do well with them is HUGELY different than even the characters a FEW TIERS behind.. that was Sm4sh's top tiers.
Also, I would put very little in 4 up there with Ult in terms of 'skill factor'. Everything about 4 just about was objectively easier. I view Ultimate as the best of old and new, what I wanted Brawl to be all those years ago. I very nearly despised Sm4sh, and I did hate Brawl.. so clearly something big has changed. Granted I'm a competitive player so mine is ONE viewpoint of the two available.
Is it perfect? No. I'd like some of the ledge stuff tweaked and some other things, but all-in-all I'm stoked. Ultimate has effectively replaced Melee for me. Yeah I'll miss sliding around platforms like an ice skater before sliding up in someone's DM's with Luigi's USmash. Melee's movement can never be replaced and I will always miss my moonwalk knees.. Otherwise, I think Ultimate has it beaten near everywhere else and in enough places to succeed it, THOUGH I will admit a big part of this also is Melee's age and current meta situation too. Melee has become really stale to me as of the past few years.