I am not a big fan of the way daf yomi is learned today either, but I am not as cynical as longarekel either. There may be better ways for average balebatim to acquire torah knowledge but the daf yomi program has had a lot of success in getting people to be koveah itim (even people who you wouldn’t expect) and that is nothing to knock!
I would also like to point out that halacha l’mayse does not need to be the goal of your limud (it can be if you like). torah l’shma is learning for the sake of understanding the torah you are learning (at least that is how the nefesh hachaim defines it). If people are dedicated to learning pshat gemara, rashi, tosfos- or understanding the lomdus on the daf that is also great.