It's not right to see the same names on trending day in and da out, myself included. We all know this. It's been the central problem of this platform since the beginning.
You have described it he way it is,from the time i became active here from mid July,i have seen almost similar names on the trending page accept on occasional days when a few folks trend.
I am not really a community leader,but i promote Steemit iin Uganda and i get asked similar questions why the same folks are on top.
I always tell them,these guys who are trending have added much value to Steemit..!!(Not sure f my answer is right).
So really a solution has to be found!