Re: Is she a good bahu or its just that she got an easy pitch to play on?
No, rather she should bend over backward to be accepted by some family. Why can’t girls realize they don’t need to live up to someone’s expectation of what a typical bahu should be like? Each girl has her own strengths & weaknesses. Frankly, its time society & girls themselves wake up and stop trying to fit into some outrageous mold of a perfect bahu.
So if the first one is good at cooking and household stuff, doesn’t mean second or third or the bazillionth bahu needs to be at the same level, if not better. OP has her own qualities, she supported her family when they needed her to. If she feels the family will pit her against the first bahu, then eff them and move on. It’s actually this fear of comparison that has her disparaging the older DIL who I bet is going through her own fears of how she’'d hold up against the new DIL.
Now if your only aim is to simply get married and be accepted, oh well…sorry ignore my sermon.