If you read my previous posts to you, you’ll see I’m well aware of the differences between the NG and the MAX, including the measurements of the fan diameter and engine relocation from CFM 56’s to the CFM LEAPs.
Yes, the MCAS was installed to make the MAX plane behave, i.e. feel, like the NG.
All modern aircraft pitch up with increasing throttle. All of them. The 737 NG and A320 included. This is not unique to the 737 MAX.
Are you calling all modern airliners unstable, or just singling out the MAX?
I repeat, all modern airliners pitch up with increased throttle. Yet they all have their CoG ahead of their CoL, so they are considered stable, including the MAX.
And yes, the LEAP’s are more powerful than the CFM56’s, so yes the pitch up will be greater. But again, this doesn’t make the plane “unstable” like your F-16 comment.
The main problem with the MCAS was that for some insane reason, Boeing decided to allow a single sensor failure cause the plane to fly itself right into the ground. (This is no longer the case.) I have already written about the other issues with the MCAS, which have also been resolved.
Any plane that has MCAS or a similar system is unstable. That's why it has the system installed.