I don't drink but I was always under the impression that alcohol-free beer doesn't quite taste the same (i.e. that the process of removing alcohol doesn't only remove the taste of alcohol, but somehow additionally damages the overall beer taste and makes it inferior).
Those terms you use, "damage" and "inferior", are of course, subjective, relative, and circumstantial, rather than absolute.
When I used to drink a lot of beer, I might have agreed with their sentiment, since I would mostly be drinking because I wanted the effect of the alcohol.
But since I stopped drinking alcohol, after several months I found, to my surprise, that a zero alcohol beer can be quite a pleasant experience. The taste reminded me of what I used to like about drinking beer with friends, whilst the differences helped me to stay connected to my new found appreciation of clarity.
I've been sampling non-alcoholic beers recently. A few of the brands taste pretty good. I like Athletic Brewing, and the Heineken is good for what it is.
Beer has a incredible variety of tastes. Don't compare alcohol free beers with the alcoholic beers of the same brand, just view it as a separate family of beers. Try some and pick your favorite.