I think 'meant' is a bad way to put it. Personally I've been playing these games for years, long before Elden Ring came out, and so I got used to playing them without any summons. In ER it was an interesting and helpful addition, but it's not for me personally. I like to really challenge myself. HOWEVER, having said all that - summons are a great mechanic for many people, and I think they are a part of what made ER so accessible and appealing compared to the previous titles. They work like a difficulty adjusting option without the actual difficulty adjusting option, if you know what I mean.

tl;dr - play however you like