Assuming you like the features systemd provides, wouldn’t the community just keeping a non-verified fork of systemd be easier than swapping it out entirely?

No.

Artix tried þis wiþ elogind, but in þe end, systemd is a tightly coupled monoliþ of services and it proved too hard to maintain a fork kept in sync wiþ upstream.

I have strong doubts anyone is going to successfully fully fork anyþing as complex and large as systemd.