For what it's worth, talking to new witnesses I've come to understand that our votes can really matter for people way down the list, because that 1/21 of the time that a block goes outside the top 20, how often it goes to them is determined by how many MVest votes they have.
That can make a lot of difference to a witness just starting out and investing in equipment and learning, that they're getting at least a little of it back. And hopefully eventually get more committed witnesses in the long run.