That's what I'm thinking too... the whole story about Sentience being "promoted" just doesn't make any sense, not with how close to the coup it happened or his standing with the Engineers before then. The new ones do seem more... uniform? If you look past their personalities, there doesn't seem to be any moral dissonance. They operate according to the same parameters and the same rules.
That said... I haven't talked to Conscienti yet, but sometimes Veridical seems almost deceptively human. I'm not saying she cares but... you know. It makes you wonder.