But is it better known? That's the determining factor here. The Great Suspender was well-regarded in certain circles, and even fairly well-known (I've never used it but I've heard of it). But even it apparently wasn't above compromise. To be reasonably safe, an extension has to either be a) so well-known that they'd never be able to get away with silently adding malware (because someone would notice, which to be fair is what happened here), or b) tied to a major brand that wouldn't want to sell out to some shady firm, on PR grounds alone.
I see the distinction you are making, but there are many people (here especially) whose definition of "compromised" is not limited to malware (or whose definition of "malware" is not limited to what is happening with TGS).