Interesting. I won't disagree with you that the path from 2 to 3 has been awkward in the past. But there have been major changes lately because it was identified as a problem, and it's shown results.

I now work with 3 SDE3s between two related teams. Meanwhile, a friend and sometimes mentor of mine just got his PE promotion. I honestly take offense to the notion that he didn't deserve it, that he bribed his way into it. Fantastic developer and well deserving of the title.