I agree, when you get down to the value of Steem, if it has any value at all, none of those values relate to the current direction.
Steem has a value in immutability, which is true only for text. This means that authors cannot be muted in the written form, however, de-monetization is still possible on the Steem blockchain via whale flagging, downvote tools/trails.
So, what is the key value? If it is the immutability of text, well, SMTs do not help with that. So, if a team wishes to make their own token they might as well clone Steem rather than make an SMT.
Now, if the value is monetization, or protection from de-monetization an SMT could theoretically work. However, what is the value of that token? Why not just buy a t-shirt from the content producer or look at an ad rather than buy a Joe Rogan Token?
Steem's value as I see it was that it had the potential to be a universal tipping protocol. Like a decentralized patreon where you could upvote or delegate to your favorite folk online. In the concept the value of Steem was its universal-ness, including the universal application of its currency as the primary means of reward. Split that up into thousands of no-name tokens and people are really going to begin not giving a damn.
SMTs can let people do clever stuff, so they should exist. But I expect no big pump due to them.