That phaser is shockingly detailed for its size.

You realize 90s Trek had a massive budget for the time and the effects were actually considered outstanding, right? It was never cheap, it's just become dated. Fanservice varies. Early TNG had TOS-style skimpy outfits, but generally avoided references to TOS. Later on they got better outfits, but also became more self-referential.

My assumption was that it is part of his design for two reasons: 1) Zimmerman's holographic assistant seems to have that feature and I'm pretty sure she's older, and 2) they can't guarantee what future sickbays will look like so it's better to make a one-size-fits-all system than to build maps for each sickbay design into his program.

Voyager is just a hair longer than the classic Enterprise, but it's also chonkier so it has more volume. About 150 people on an Intrepid-class, 200 on a Constitution-class.

Aesthetics, probably. The Sequoia could easily be made to look shiny and new, but they didn't do that.

I'm still just impressed his hips and spine could actually do that.

Or she could be pretty typical in regards to emotional intensity but with unusually strong telepathy.

Not technically an alternate universe. Also, the two Voyagers had only deviated from each other by a few hours. O'Brien getting killed off and replaced by his time-displaced future self is weirder, to me.

Uhura, Chapel, and M'Benga were supporting characters in TOS at best, and were horribly underutilized the first time around. Spock was a main, but one main out of three doesn't feel like much. Kirk makes it two of three mains.

I think the main problem with Kirk, though, is that he kind of distracts from the regulars. Making him a once-a-season character, like Q in TNG, would probably work better than his three appearances during this one season.

It would be inconcievable!

Or Farscape, which sometimes did both in the same episode. Teen Titans could pull it off in a kid-friendly format, too, along with ATLA.

Klingons have had two totally consistent design elements from TOS all the way through Into Darkness that DSC didn't incorporate. The first is that the majority are fairly hairy, and the second is that their tech is very industrial and bare-bones looking. I can totally buy Klingon factions that stray from either of those things, such as a group that shaves their heads or has more elaborate tech, but the entire species being that way doesn't work. The facial redesign could have worked, but ultimately the masks were too thick for anyone to emote in and they hindered the acting. Season 2 thinning the masks a bit and adding hair was a huge improvement and showed that the concept could work, but the organic looking tech just doesn't do it for me at all as the predominant look in the empire.

Overall, I get what they were going for, but they lost what little consistent design language the Klingons had and it just did not work for me at all.