Yeah.. that does seem like a fair assessment. :P

If you ever give the series's wiki [which, like most anime wikis, incorperates light novel and manga sources] a look, the overall lore actually does feel pretty random and screwy and abstractly interwoven, so it's no wonder that the streamlined anime version ends up feeling even more disconnected than other versions of the story. The anime is rather fun to watch, at least, even if that damn theme song gets stuck* in your head way too easy (and that's before you even get influenced by the dozens of excellent cover versions).
*Rather much like the Game of Thrones song does, once you learn its lyrics.

Anyway, that aside, if you're not against the show, don't mind things like cussing, and haven't already, give the abridged version of Attack on Titan a go, as it's one of the best Abridged offerings out there. Unfortunately, it got cancelled after the first episode (purportedly due to copyright claims, despite it clearly falling under parody exceptions), so there's not much of it there to watch. :S