Maybe a controversial idea, but why not put a maximum payout on posts bloggers make based on their stake in the platform. This in a way where it's separated from how high something goes in trending. I'm sure there is a way to get this done in a proper way that benefits the platform. Not sure if it's a good idea though, it just briefly popped in my head without really thinking about it further.
The fact remains that many things about the entire Hive upvote model are totally broken.
By that logic, there's no incentive to create good posts if they have less stake. They can only expect low payouts for their content which they may have put in the work because they are conditioned to think they didn't stake enough to earn high enough.