The best check and balance would be Senate elected by the people but unanswerable to the State Legislatures.
17th took power away from the states. We are supposed to be a republic, not a democracy. There is not a good side to the 17th.
The 17th Amendment put the power with the parties and lobbyists, aka the uniparty.
And the added benefits of a corrupted Judiciary, installed by an owned Senate.
If you take the time to read the period newspaper reports, on why the 17th was needed.. yellow journalism at best.. it was on par with CNN talking about Trump. It was an alinsky type situation... accuse your opponent of what you are doing...
The elite have been laughing hard, and stacking cash since.
Actually, the 17th Amendment is a mixed bag and there was a very good reason it was enacted.
I think your mixed bag was nothing more than a progressive talking point of the day.
1913 was one of the worst years in American History. Seventeenth Amendment, Federal Reserve, and graduated income tax.
Your final comment is interesting but I have always taken issue with the fact that popularly elected Senators retained a six year term, when popularly elected Representatives had but a two year term for very good reasons, and is why I consider the Seventeenth Amendment unconstitutional from the git go. They failed to change the term to two years, per the Constitution.
As I see it, the six year term was by virtue of Senators working for the various States. When in 1913 they became glorified Representatives, they deserved the same two year term limit. A definite Congressional fail. Only one of many.