From what I've seen at the Tele forum over the years, the folks who sing the praises of the upper line Squiers wind up modding just about every thing on them. You rarely hear of a MIM Standard with everything upgraded, and plenty of them are left stock.
I have a MIM Standard Tele, and I have to agree with what you say here. I added a second string tree as the A was zinging behind the nut, and I added a 1-ply black pickguard to it out of personal preference. Otherwise it is a fine instrument, that I don't see requiring any other mods. My MIM Standard Strat is not so good however. The middle and neck pickups are toneless, murky and dull. The vintage saddles seem to mop up all the attack and highs as well. The pickups look like shitty ceramic units as well. The Tele is ready to go, but the more complex Strat just isn't as well executed, for whatever reason.
I've also owned a MIM Standard Jazz bass (2013). It is now a complete Frankenstein as I was never 100% happy with it, but for reasons I never quite figured out.
My MIM Strat is sunburst, so it will be a multi-part body with a veneer over the top, trapped forever in a thick poly finish. Fender make these MIM instruments to a price point and don't spend a cent more, hence why they route Micky Mouse ears into the end of the neck pocket to allow for slop, or route circular impressions into the body so they can easily attach the template for the screw holes. The glue joins between body parts on my Jazz bass telegraph quite clearly through the finish. Other companies also chuck out instruments on the cheap, but Fender seem to do a better job of letting you know you aren't playing their top-line instrument. I've dissected a far cheaper Aria jazz copy and found the routing was similar to vintage jazzers, with a seperate control cavity and neck pickup route.
Having said all that I really like my Tele, and Strat probably just needs better pickups, a fret polish and some proper saddles like Graphtechs. Part of me wants to turn the Strat into an HHH beast with a trio of PAFs.