Starfleet, and Star Trek, do not have an singular feeling or vibe and honestly this criticism doesn’t hold any legs once you start getting into it. I’ve mentioned this elsewhere but every series (with the exception of TNG and VOY) all have their own individual themes and vibes. TOS is very campy while the TOS movies swing from campy to outright war, hostilities and loss. TNG (and VOY) are primarily explorative and philosophical while having their own episodes of strangeness. DS9’s entire theme is built around hostility and hatred between races that blows up into a full on war with extreme loss and casualties. Enterprise combines a variety of different themes from other shows while tackling the hardships of trying something for the first time. Not a single one of them share the exact same vibe across them all. They do share the same ideals, however, and Discovery is included in that. Just because the show focuses more on action/flashy scenes than others doesn’t mean that it isn’t Star Trek and it doesn’t diminish those traits which run integral to the entire show. Discovery doesn’t focus on war anymore than DS9 does, in fact it focuses on it less given the fact that it was one season in comparison to the multi-season arc for DS9. The core concepts of sacrifice for the good of all, hope, the quest for peace, wanting a better future, trying to do what’s best for all and (arguably most importantly) personal growth? They all exist in the show and while were buried a little in Season 1 (before becoming more visible in 2 and onwards) it’s still there.
As for ‘teeny sci-fi show’, why? The show outright tackles some pretty harsh subject matter and brutal decisions.
Lastly, if it’s a “good show overall” then why did you literally open with saying that Pike was “THE redeeming factor” of the show?