It's an interesting dynamic. I think the value of the tokens will be determined by the curation strategies of the high-rollers for each token. It's interesting to think that a Steem post could be flagged to oblivion, but still have high value via one or more steem-engine tokens, so it might defang some of the Steem flag-warriors a little, or at least make the game more expensive. OTOH, it also creates new avenues for spammers and plagiarists.

It also changes the strategic and tactical decisions that Steem voters might want to make. I'm definitely curious to watch it all play out. In the end, I think along the same line as you, anything that brings eyeballs adds value, and I think these tokens will bring eyeballs.