Hive can never be perfect and different people have their own views of how it should operate. I've said many times that we need to be wary of driving folk away when the community is already so small. Those who leave have a habit of telling others.
I agree that curation is a wonderful thing. Anyone can earn without even having to post. I would recommend following the votes of someone you trust to support good posts. It definitely should not be about hoping for reciprocal votes from the big accounts.
Things have changed a lot over the years and some will not have seen how some people made thousands on a post in the early days. It's a good thing that rewards are spread more evenly now. If/when Hive gets massive then it be very different and fighting abuse will get harder. It is better to set the right expectations early on.