I think the things you're calling out are accurate. There are more people, and especially more prominent/influential people, who are willing to press the seams

I think the things you're calling out are accurate. There are more people, and especially more prominent/influential people, who are willing to press the seams of the justice system to use it for personal grievances or vendettas. The existing protections against this are not sufficient: where anti-SLAPP laws exist, they're often not expansive enough to cover the novel ways that the courts are being weaponized, and where they don't exist, plaintiffs continue to venue shop to improve their position. That still doesn't suggest to me that the solution is for otherwise well-intentioned actors to steer into the skid. At best, Lego/Nestle/etc would make a political point and then lose their case. At worst, they would win, setting damaging precedent for future suits by the very people they're trying to oppose.