I have found this too. However i have an entwistle single coil that has a neo bar magnet and screw pole pieces that are adjustable and its quite a nice pickup. But again budget
Oh yeah, they're not necessarily
bad - Entwistle had a good reputation when he was making pickups for Hohner back in the '90s. And DiMarzio used to make a high output single-coil called an SDS-1 with bar magnets and adjustable polepieces.
And I remember reading an interview with a blues guitarist (either Ronnie Earl or Duke Robillard, can't remember which) who said he really likes those budget Strat pickups.