I actually think the point of the quip, aside from humor, was to set the tone for how the audience is supposed to view Kylo and the First Order - they’re more respectable villains, merely hateable and dangerous ones. They lack “evil virtues” like Vader’s respect for the non-com officer who voices the problem to taking Leia prisoner, or Tarkin’s professionalism. They’re not veterans of a previous Galaxy spanning conflict who’s allowed themselves to be corrupted into totalitarians afterwards; they’re totalitarians seeking a Galaxy spanning conflict to justify themselves and their decisions.
Poe makes the quip about Kylo to his face, but then has a moment of quiet but audible horror as Kylo spitefully and needlessly orders the village murdered. Poe has bravado and definitely comes off as more mature and grow-up than Kylo in his interrogation... but still ends up being broken and having the information ripped from his mind.
The First Order isn’t standing in for the Wehrmacht in WWII. They are, in Abrams own comparison, more like the SS in Argentina and Neo-Nazis. They’re not professional hit men, they’re serial killers and hate criminals. They’re terrorist members of a rogue state, not the professional military from the hegemonic power. They’re not “the man” as much as they’re the reactionaries. Heck, Kylo isn’t even so much the scary inquisitor that Vader is in ANH with Leia - he’s almost explicitly portrayed like a pervy predator.
Having said all that,
I apologize for trying to “correct” you. I see what you mean about it lessening the seriousness of the situation
I juts think that was intentional in regards to Kylo. You aren’s supposed to have any respect for him in TFA. The reason I think TLJ and TROS are much worse is because they presumed respect for him, and operate in a way where if that’s not true... then they’re just wildly messed up in terms of their POV and “sympathies.” For instance, in TFA, when Kylo’s helmet comes off... it’s really just so he can get more hateable and become more fo a human monster - the usual hum inaction elements are turned on their head with him fanatically murdering his father and thanking him for being murdered, and whining like a brat at Finn for having a lightsaber he wants. In contrast and to its detriment, TLJ features an almost entirely helmetless Kylo and wants him viewed sympathetically, even moving his scar to make him seem more roguish and handsome... which just ends up like pi$$ing in the wind if you’re someone who remembers him violating Rey’s mind in TFA and the sexual assault vibes therein.
For another example... in TFA, his tantrums are played deliberately for comedy and belittlement of his attitude; even if you lose track of the fact he’s still dangerous, you know you don’t root for him. TLJ, in contrast, has him break his helmet in a tantrum and throw another one around Rey, but for some reason thinks this makes him seem more “mesmerizingly moody” than not.
Ah, but which film’s “Vader cosplay” was better or worse?
The TFA suit is the only one that I think actually had some good and intriguing design elements. Like the rest of his costumes, it’s meant to be a bluntly Vader-like suit... but 1) it does have a twist on the design basis, and 2) it has better detailing and aesthetic structure.
That helmet of his was not designed to be worn without a cowl/hood; with the cowl/hood, it allows for a more menacing silhouette that differs from Vader’s, but without them, it’s neck guard is too short and it seems a size too small. His “tattered tabard” look in TFA all’s makes his silhouette different from Vader’s, by making him seem more like a lean tower than a mountain as Vader was - the “skirt” of his suit makes his image one long, unbroken shadow. And the more western style “knight” design of the suit differs from Vader’s samurai design, while also seeing to match Kylo's saber, unstable state thanks to it’s tears and weathering, and really emphasizes the more violent side of his “Noble pretensions.”
In contrast... his TROS suit is far more bland, coming off as juts a Vader suit with the armor and tech removed with a half-hearted repair job on his helmet being useless... but not as useless as the almost entirely helmetless and equally bland TLJ look that occasionally forsook the cape. At least TFA’s design feels like a costume and has warlike connotations. His TLJ look feels like a cheap Renaissance Festival dresser.