Many altcoins are created with different purposes. I am not sure why only Ripple is being compared? In reality, altcoins shouldn't be compared with Bitcoin at all. There are multiple reasons alongside centralization. Also I am not against altcoins. There are many benefits altcoins provide.
Bitcoin is more like pioneer in this market and enjoys the first mover advantage. But altcoins are also needed, especially coins like Monero. In this world of surveillance, privacy coins are really beneficial.
Yes, you are absolutely right, it is never right to compare altcoins with Bitcoin. I think Bitcoin is the king of all coins. I will not say that all altcoins in the market are bad. There are many good coins in the market whose value can increase in the future. But there are some coins because of which all the coins in the market get a bad name. When all these coins are launched in the market, some people launch coins among them and many people buy them in the market after seeing this. Again, many big people market them so that everyone sees and buys coins. Before investing in all these coins, do a very good research and then invest. I would say that you should always refrain from investing in all these coins.
Again, to do this, for example, you can invest 95% of the amount of money you would invest with your discretionary income in Bitcoin and the remaining 5% in altcoins. Long-term investment in Bitcoin is much less risky and your chances of making a profit are much higher.