I think some design goals for SMT came at the derogation of ST. Turning it off helps ST but all the resources can not be used as effectively as it could have. It's a trade off that hurt gaming performance. Intel's HT did not have the same goal. Their goal was for HT to use unused resources. The trade offs played out in different ways.
Skylake/Kabylake HT is as good as AMD's SMT but with superior single core IPC. Zen with less cores will show even more deficit in performance.
I think it's a bit early to jump to a conclusion there. MS still needs to get it's act together for example.
While I do think Ryzen is a great chip, and it will be the centerpiece of my next build this summer, the launch blew chunks. Motherboard manufacturers dropped the ball badly. Tons of CPU's available, but no motherboards to put them in for example. The Bios issues are part AMD, and part motherboard manufacturers. Since some work a LOT better than others.
Overall, I'd give the Ryzen design an A-. The launch a C-. And there is enough in the design, that I expect things in the CPU market overall to start picking up some heat and excitement. Well, tech nerd excitement anyway.
It's a great part, and one I will be buying. I just wish it had launched a little better.