That's not really a complaint against UML. I'd be equally (if not more) disturbed by an office where "architects" only create informal diagrams and throw them

That's not really a complaint against UML. I'd be equally (if not more) disturbed by an office where "architects" only create informal diagrams and throw them over a wall to "coders". However, that doesn't mean that UML can't be beneficial when used properly. For instance, I could see using UML as a reference rather than a guide (especially if it's auto generated). I've worked with codebases that I wish had a "map" that I could look at to get acquainted with them.