Great post, those two points are items that many of us are wondering about.
Ultimately, I think you're right about the fact that this is really about uncovering how SMTs are going to change where the value of STEEM is tied. I wrote a post detailing my thoughts about it here.
For me, there's no doubt that there is a gaming changing potential with SMTs that's very exciting. Still, I would much rather see Steemit continue to get improved so that it becomes a power house in it's own right.