National chains are mainly an abomination, pretty much fried crap. Friday's, Chili's, Olive Garden, Applebee's, Red Lobster etc are freaking horrid.
Cheesecake Factory is tolerable because the menu is gigantic, Carraba' s is tolerable, better than the other Italian places mentioned. They're (Cheesecake Factory sorry for breaking that up) menu items have a gazillion calories so be careful you might have four meals in one.
One place you can get a cheap ok streak is the Longhorn, for the money, it's decent but the menu can be a minefield.
I think BJ' s Steakhouse/Brewhouse is a national chain, they're pretty good, better than anything mentioned here by a longshot.
Other than that, the only time I would go to any of those places, specifically the real crappy one's, is to meet a group or forced.
PF Chang's is ok but not worth a three freaking hour wait at most locations, it's not worth any wait.