Definitely agree on quality over quantity. I think it'd be a good idea to have people pay for their accounts. For all the same reasons you listed. Since it's possible to make money with a Steemit account, it's not at all unreasonable to ask for a one time payment.
I'm not sure about SBD, though. Right now, it's broken. But I'm currently not in favor of removing it, since I think a price stable crypto token has value. It gives STEEM an edge over BTC, for instance.
So far it has given very little value. It was a better idea when steem was hyperinflationary and people needed a stable alternative, but now that steem has only a modest inflation, there is much less need for a price stable currency in the ecosystem.