As the self-appointed Steem Pope, I am the perfect person to ask for advice!

You've made a good start in substantive comments, but avoid asking people to check your profile or read your posts, much less ask for follows/upvotes. Work on building relationships through conversations, and let people decide whether to check your profile on their own.

I advise against upvoting your own comments, too. I don't object to upvoting your own posts, but it just looks tacky to add an upvote for yourself on your comments. Admittedly, there are people who disagree, but it looks as vain as when people upvote their own Facebook comments.

If you compliment a post but do not upvote it, it really looks like you're just trying to get upvotes for yourself. It looks sleazy. If you like a post, upvote it. If you compliment it in the comments, definitely upvote it. Don't worry about the value of your vote. What matters is that you support people who you think add value to the system.

Keep on trying to find your niche in the Steemit ecosystem. Write daily. Practice, practice, practice.