The NeXT was even better.

The cmd key was a thin key of full width below the space bar. https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=12260

Although having the Help key where ⌘ is now was not that useful.

I guess your ctrl-C experience depends on which fingers you use to press those buttons? For me it's the other way around. cmd-C feels awkward to press and ctrl-c feels comfortable.

Prefer the positioning of cmd so much I flash all my keyboards firmwares on my windows and Linux machines to have ctrl beside space and super in the far corner.

Genuinely find it better ergonomically because it’s closer to where all the keys it’s pressed with are.

Far corner ctrl makes me use my pinky and splay my hand for it while beside space ctrl feels more natural for a thumb

and then, some of us discovered that we can remap ctrl to be under right thumb or caps

Interesting, that makes no sense to me. I assume you don't touch type.

If you touch type, you hold your 4 fingers on ASDF. If you want to press Ctrl+C, you move your pinky to Ctrl and press C with the index finger or middle finger.

On Macintosh, you have to hold your pinky much too close to the index finger to press Command+C which are very close.

If, instead, you use thumb and index that also puts the thumb in an awkward position because you have to cross the fingers (Command is to the left of C)

What fingers do you use?