I agree mostly with all your points there, but still don't know about the tally.
Plus, the memorable melodies don't just have to be from symphonies.
Sometimes for me, as well, Beethoven has more meaning, but that doesn't say how good as a composer he was really.
Plus... Beethoven was somewhat responsible for the beginning of the romantic era, which in turn eventually lead to modern "music" (very eventually)
So in that respect, Beethoven can be held responsible
Which takes like 20 of his tally, lol.