National Popular Vote is a pretty meaningless number

It would only be meaning full is all votes were cast at the same time in the sam manner
But we had a primary season that spanned a significant amount of time (5 months)m and space (57 different contests..56 if yo do not count Michigan)

We Do not have a national primary we have races in every state and in some territories. You have some states where voters got to vote twice, some where Republicans get to vote in Democratic events. and others where they votes were not supposed to count at all and you even have some places that do not have the right to vote at all in the General election.

It is because of all these vagaries of the system that we ultimately count delegates instead of votes proportioned largely on the basis of Democratic Turnout in the last three General elections.

READ THAT AGAIN. It is proportional and weighted towards Blue Congressional Districts.

On that Basis.....totalling thing sup anyway you might choose to it an exercise in futility.

Others might think that the number of people who voted for each candidate is of utmost importance (regardless of whether some primaries were closed or open, or whether caucuses had low turnout).

Discussing the meaning of the popular vote is actually meaningless. There is no official definition, many ways of calculating it, and many different opinions on its importance. If you can point to a dictionary definition or some other official definition that your opinion agrees with, then post it. But otherwise, you shouldn't say that there is just one meaning, and that is your meaning.