It looks like we both joined Steem at the same time and came to similar conclusions about Steem. I never got to the point where I was going to power down (it seemed way too long) but I have been through the motions of this place and the toll it has taken on me.
The Steem brochure promises a utopia full of profit and content, but soon after joining you realise there are no water slides, the plants are dying and the corrupt capitalist overlord whales who preside over this place all prefer to eat alone at the massive dinner table, snacking on minnow and plankton as they pass by.
But as you say, eventually you discover the good side of Steem. There is a moderate minority of people trying to do good, Curie and Utopian are two prime examples of curation groups trying to pay people what their content is worth and it's beautiful. You've got locality specific curation groups and that's also beautiful as well.
The public and highly visible part of Steem is ironically the bad part. The whales manipulating and buying their way onto the trending page. To find the great content you have to put on your hazmat suit and gloves, then go digging through the trash to find it, but it's there.
I try and dedicate at least an hour or two per week specifically for seeking out great content writers and following them. I am not always successful, but more often than not, I find someone who spell checks and properly formats their posts, with interesting subject matter and that is good enough for me.
Not sure if you have come across it yet, but @thedarkhorse runs a curation contest called pay it forward.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply and glad to see others who also joined around the same time and didn't quickly quit.