Thinking hard about what sort of contribution is really the most important just feels like status anxiety to me.

I agree that this is mostly status games, and "importance" is not a useful measure relative to, say, marginal value. (That is, I assume most people think of "importance" in terms of, say, "average value," but the average value of a thing does not tell you whether your current level should increase, decrease, or stay the same.) Find the best niche for you in the market / ecosystem, and make profits/contributions, and only worry about the rest to the extent that it helps you find a better niche.