I agree that before the latest patch city and town lighting looked much better. The comparison screen shots really emphasise this. But before the update it did look a bit dim, which may be why Asobo changed it.
But I think one issue that isn’t being addressed here is that from an aircraft window, you rarely see street lights themselves, just the effect of the street lights on the ground or buildings. Street lights shine down, not up. Lights in areas like sporting grounds are more likely to be seen from the air as both the light itself and the light they cast, as they tend not to be angled straight down. In the extreme distance you might just see the street lights themselves from the air, but this would most likely be hidden in the general background lighting.
So I think the brightness is not the issue. Imagine MSFS if the actual street lights themselves were not visible (or even just less visible), but they light they currently cast remained the same. While other lights like traffic lights, sporting arena lights, building lights, vehicles etc were visible as both the light itself and the light they cast. I think this might give a very realistic effect.
I think the before patch lighting looked better because the lights themselves were dimmer, and they were less obvious. But I think Asobo moved in the right direction with the brightness of the light they cast, they just need to hide the street lights themselves.
The separate issue of floating lights is caused by Asobo placing the light above the ground, so it can cast light downwards. In effect a street light without the pole it sits on.
Rural lighting is another issue and is caused by OSM data which Asobo appear to use for road lighting.
OSM data also includes traffic light locations, so it is very easy to add green/red coloured lights in just these locations.