Taking money out means taking a huge tax hit. A lot of people don't want to do that. There are some collaborative custody plans, I believe unchained capital has one, where you can self-custody the asset in a 401K You have 2 keys Unchained has 1 that kind of thing. But the funds are not 'allowed' to move (they are monitored).

But it is only for 401Ks of former employers according to them and that's not practical for everyone.

For what it's worth I kinda agree with you 401Ks are kinda bs... however I'm playing the devil's advocate