DC/All-American was a much, much larger operation, with a much larger number of significant heroes and villians. Marvel had 3 significant heroes. Except for the "Big 3", none of the other superheroes that Timely introduced lasted for more than a handful of issues.

Agreed on the first part, but not on the last part. Id say that the Angel, Vision, Miss America, Whizzer, Destroyer, Patriot, Young Allies, and even Blonde Phantom lasted more than a handful of issues.

Here are the number of stories each had (not counting All-Winners Squad, guest staring or cameos, or text):

Angel: 107
Young Allies: 59
Patriot: 56
Miss America: 50
Blonde Phantom: 49
Destroyer: 42
Vision: 37
Whizzer: 36

Contrast that with some of DCs that didnt get to live on into the 50s by piggybacking on Superman/boy or Batman (not counting text, JSA or SSoV appearances):

Star-Spangled Kid: 106 (plus a preview in Action Comics, and Merry afterwards)
Air Wave: 78
Sandman: 72
Crimson Avenger: 63
Newsboy Legion: 58
Spectre: 52
Liberty Belle: 51
Dr. Fate: 44
Starman: 42
Hourman: 37
Mr. America/Americommando: 33

And then All-Americans (same rules as the others):

Hop Harrigan: 130
Hawkman: 108
Johnny Thunder: 98
Wildcat: 93
Little Boy Blue: 81
The Black Pirate: 80
Dr. Mid-Nite: 78
Ghost Patrol: 77
Atom: 67
Sargon the Sorcerer: 66
Mr. Terrific: 63
Red Tornado: 40 (not counting Scribbly solo)
The Gay Ghost: 34
Black Canary: 19 (including her Johnny Thunder appearances)

My point is not that Timely was as big and prosperous as DC or All-American, but that the runs of its backup heroes werent as miniscule as it might seem. The status of many of DC/AAs heroes has been inflated over the years by the JSA, and better revivals. In fact, many that seem minor, like Air Wave, have more stories than ones that are considered major like Sandman or Spectre. Meanwhile, Timelys backups, who had comparable numbers of stories, didnt have the same post-Golden Age advantages, and thus seem more like footnotes.

If Marvel had the All-Winners Squad (or something like it) running throughout the 40s like the JSA and/or had done more with these backup heroes in the 60s, they would probably be better remembered and regarded today.

-Eric