Fairfield Inn gives a free breakfast pretty comparable to Hampton Inn. Residence Inn gives a free breakfast pretty comparable to Homewood Suites. So just as you can get free breakfast at several brands within the Hilton family without status, so you can within the Marriott family.

And I've been to some BW Plus properties (note that BW now has 3 tiers, BW, BW Plus, and BW Premier) that had a free-for-all breakfast buffet more comparable (in one case even better than) an HGI or Embassy. (But you're right about the lowest tier of BW, those tend to often have very minimal breakfasts.)

Meanwhile, Marriott's breakfast benefit for Gold/Plat is not at all brands (no CW and no AC), and is M-F only in the US, but is 7 days a week overseas at participating brands.

The simplicity of Hilton's "free breakfast and free internet at all brands worldwide" for Gold/Plat certainly has its advantages, but if someone has the ability to choose which exact brands to stay at (in some cases even research on TripAdvisor before choosing the individual property), it's possible to get free breakfast and free internet with less status or no status in many different programs.