I think the persistent effects are fine.
You are objectively wrong. They are not.
My 1d10 cantrip actually deals 1d6 direct, plus 1d4 from the instantly created fire surface, plus 1d4 burning, plus an additional 1d4 - without any saving throw - on the creature's turn when they try to move out of the fire surface, for a range of 4 to 18. And if there is more than one creature in the radius of the fire surface created, they take damage from the surface as well. Oh, and when you miss, you still deal 1d4 surface damage.
Meanwhile those characters using physical weapons are dealing 1d6 or 1d8. It's completely unbalanced.
They are less prominent in DnD 5e because they require a lot of bookkeeping, something you don't have to do in a video game.
They ARE less prominent in 5e because they're tricky. But you fail to follow that train of thought to the station: they're not prominent in 5e and so the rules are based around surfaces not being prominent.