Of course they are role-playing games, you completely assume the role of a character in another world, even with stat sheets. What kind of role-playing game is Deus Ex, where you play a pre-defined character in a pre-defined plot? The Masquarade is certainly a janky fan favourite, but hardly revolutionary. CRPGs made a shift, from being tabletop simulators and dungeon crawlers (with MOMA contenders like Rogue, Wizardry, or as you suggested Ultima) to games about narrative manifolds. Disco Elysium would be my pick.
Of course they are role-playing games, you completely assume the role of a character in another world, even with stat sheets. What kind of role-playing game is Deus Ex, where you play a pre-defined character in a pre-defined plot? The Masquarade is certainly a janky fan favourite, but hardly revolutionary. CRPGs made a shift, from being tabletop simulators and dungeon crawlers (with MOMA contenders like Rogue, Wizardry, or as you suggested Ultima) to games about narrative manifolds. Disco Elysium would be my pick.