you have to consider that the current high UA are what they are because of previous incentives. With new rules come new behaviours. Also, witnesses are obviously be the kind of people who have high UA...also other high UA accounts have been working really hard for a very long time.
Also, if someone were to write crap and be in the trending page through upvote bot, it won't translate into followers. If you do the same, but write stellar stuff...it will.
i missed this UA stuff all together, i am reading about it more right now. it looks that it could be an interesting system, and it could change the "trending" to be better.
For the last part, most of the time you are right. there is a part where people follow regularly high paid posters for the part of curation but it is probably not that high amount.
thanks for sharing this
and sorry for the gloom and doom attitude, i am a bit "steem down" this few days so it reflects :D