I agree with you about the disconnect.

I also think it is systematic of where crypto is at the moment... in the rush to create perceived value the key tenant that makes public blockchains valuable in the first place is forgotten, decentralisation. For Steem/ DPoS consensus this puts extra scrutiny on the role of Witnesses.

I think Steemit are locked into their development path, however as the largest stakeholder it is important they don't overplay their stake, else they feed the perception of Steem being centralised.