Fair enough, the F-35 is not an F-22. The F-35 is very similar to the F-16 when both are loaded for similar range and payload. The nature of LO means you have to carry everything internal, so your ability to jettison and bug out is reduced. It's just the nature of the beast.
By no means is the F-35 a BFM monster. But is it good enough? All the discussion of China and Russia all seem like WW3 discussions to me. I think the west will be challenged more by surface to air threats in the future as crappy little countries buy advanced SAMs. Let's face it, maintaining a credible air to air threat is stupid expensive, buying SAMs is way cheaper.