Agreed that the curation mechanic is not something that should be in the consensus layer, or at least not as currently constituted. I like the resteem idea. There are lots of front ends already doing what you suggest and disregarding blockchain level curation mechanic when it comes to serving up content / visibility.

Steeve.app uses AI / machine learning based on your interactions with the platform to serve you up content it thinks you will enjoy.

Steempeak.com has super simple solution of displaying posts curated by curation groups, rotating through a selection of curation trails as you visit the website. See e.g. below where it is showing the @c-cubed curation trail (full disclosure I am one of the cofounders of @c-squared / @c-cubed LOL). Even though this is ridiculously simple and relies on the curation group selecting good posts, the result WORKS. The posts displayed on steempeak.com are ~ one million times better than posts displayed on steemit.com trending and hot pages, if my quick mental math is correct ;)