Mike,
None of what you said makes a bit of difference in the poularity or legitimacy of the band. They MADE the rules and changed them as needed. You can't argue what they did for bands everywhere. Paul plays the most lyrical bass lines, he and John wrote the most incredible music and the musicianship of the 4 as ONE, was so perfect that even if you replaced a Beatle with one that was a better player (technically) ..... you'd loose the chemistry that WAS the Beatles. They were a perfect entity in the music world.
Fresh, Bold, Opinionated, Fun ..... you just can't BEAT 'em.
They are a big part of the reason I am making a living in music today.
Madonna did the same thing for Chick singers when she hit the scene, only in a sexy, slutty way. The Beatles were born in a time that treated that kind of performance as trashy and taboo. What a shame that it couldn't stay that way. There is too much filth in pop music today.

Some parents thought Elvis was "too sexy" for TV ..... they'd have heart failure watching a Beyonce video today !

Progress ...... ?