OK, seriously. . . Although I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "absurdly terrible" (which I'm sure you'd agree doesn't apply to my 27S ), Peace Dollars minted in San Francisco were generally characterized by weak strikes. I believe this was especially true for the 1927 issue.
Not sure what you mean by "absurdly terrible". Please give details to fit your description. I have several and they all look like DUNK 2's, MS-64 or better.
I mean the strike,luster, tone, and most look nicked or scratched up compared to the other piece dollar series. I'm sure the 64 and up are ok, but they are expensive!
It may just be you've looked at a bunch of poor examples in your area? My local B&M dealer gets a bunch of REALLY trashed double eagles once and a while so I never saw a great one "in the wild" was refreshing when I did!......