primary problem I can see is that obscuring liquid Steem amounts and where they are allocated would require a structural change in how the Steem blockchain operated.

Fortunately, for anyone with a good amount vested in Steem Power, your would-be assailants are going to have to set up in your house for a while if they want all of your Steem. This is actually a good argument for recruiting whales :)

Part of the consensus requires an accurate accounting of all parties at all times. I am not a programmer, but this is my strategic understanding of what/why this would be a challenge. Would love to know if I am incorrect and there could be a masking technique. Anonymous voting would be rather interesting, since it would ultimately require that. A side chain could be possible, using SMT (in theory).

Best suggestion: don't hold liquid Steem if you don't have to or setup a number of 'mules', just like in #wow. Exchange liquid Steem/SBD for ZCash or Monero. That's what I'd be doing if I were crypto rich.