>> When you have dozens of designers that all want to leave their mark on the product, you end up with...dozens of features, none of which fit together quite right. Google is in that state right now.

I think it is quite the opposite now. Google designers are TOLD to uphold similar design pattern on all Google products, which have the same features across all of them.

Seriously, why does gmail, google+, and google search should have a similar look? It just breaks some functionalities. These products are different and should not look alike. Pushing same patterns into users mouths, when it hinders the experience is an overkill.