"Steemit Defense League. There are currently 129 accounts I have had their delegation removed and a few more in the queue for pending removal. "

Sounds about right from what I've seen on Microworkers of people buying accounts. There are several people buying accounts it looks like, but the others are smarter.

As for other things youve mentioned, I noticed the lack of SBD payouts quite quickly, and it's interesting to see how people respond. I know some of the giveaway games I participate in have switched to sending rewards out in Steem rather than SBD, which in some ways is better. The platform seems pretty usable without SBD really.