Is "etc." really the best meaning for this kanji? Based on the example words, it seems like its meaning is closer to "grade" or "class" or "quality" or "level." Anybody change this one?

It has both meanings. Its most common use in compounds is grade/level, but it's also used to represent など and a few other words meaning "etc."

I'm not especially familiar with RTK but I know Heisig sometimes chooses keywords to avoid making several kanji have too close meanings -- maybe he didn't want this keyword overlapping with whatever he chose for 位.

[Katsuo]

For learning vocabulary it's better to call 等 "equal". But changing keywords can cause clashes with other kanji and in this case there is 匹 number 1695 (1830 new edition) already called "equal". Fortunately 匹 also has a better alternative keyword "counter for animals" so you could change both.

Possible Stories:
等 equal: Did you know that if you make a Buddhist temple out of bamboo then all the pieces of bamboo must be equal in size? (Note: I made this up of course.)

匹 counter for animals: I'm counting animals but one of them has human legs. Should it be counted as an animal or not? I'm not sure what to do, so I cut off its human legs and put them away in a box. Now I can count it as an animal.

P.S. This spreadsheet compares RTK keywords with names from other sources.

Thanks to you both! Really helpful information.

Late reply but who cares ... I used "equivalent", since "equal" is used elsewhere (though perhaps a better keyword for the latter is "coarse" ... maybe).

Story: Kung-Fu Panda thinks all temples are equivalent. "Once you've seen one, you've seen them all."