It's hard to say anything. I prefer to simply watch and take note. As you say, this is the first big split in a well known blockchain.

I definitely agree with the ETC people about the importance of immutability. I'm also more comfortable with POW over POS. I've been following ETH to see if it was principle or popularity that won the argument. Now I see that ETC is defining it's own space. I expect a name change will come as it garners more support. My money would have been on ETH. My skepticism about human nature led me to favor greed over principle being the winner. Reality has proven to be far more complex!