Lightning just isn't a good option as you first have to pay the expensive Bitcoin fees just to be able to use it... (And hope that you'll find a route otherwise you'll have to do it again.)
Yeah routing can suck. First timers should use a lightning wallet with built in LSP support like ZEUS, BitKit, Phoenix, etc. Then routing is a non-issue.
I think it's better to use another cryptocurrency like Monero than having to rely on a centralized service just to get a half-decent user experience.
Not requiring custodians is just one part, having to rely on third-party services for basic functionality is another.