Windows is bloated compared to what? Mac OS? The newer Mac OS updates is what seems bloated to me.
Ubuntu since Unity seemed bloated to me also and that's why I now use Kubuntu(which is far from the perfect desktop OS).
Arguably you don't need a desktop environment at all! (I certainly do my best to avoid one)
You've identified a key issue though which if that Unity sucks and on the verge of PC users as a whole considering Linux distributions as a contender in a 3-way choice Ubuntu is rapidly becoming equal to Linux in the public eye. Not sure what we can do about it though.
