I like Signal because it is a fairly pure messaging app. Admittedly, introduction of Mobile Coin has marred that though. I want something analogous to SMS but is E2E encrypted. I'm personally not intentionally trying to evade state governments, I'm concerned about Comcast.
My favorite Signal feature is automatic deleting messages. I can have ephemeral conversations with people about politics, a health issue, etc and generally trust that it won't be on their phone later. When that feature rolled out, it was controversial. The security types complained that it provided a fake assurance of privacy since there was nothing stopping screenshotting or simply taking a picture of your phone. It reminds me of the federation discussion in that I understand the concern from security pureists, but Signal still seems like the better option than an FB managed app or SMS while still providing something my parents can easily use.