You are right. Like anything else in life that requires aesthetic judgement, Steemit posts' value, both in terms of visits and comments and ultimately money, are jubject to interpretation and chance.
We know that having connections and guaranteed votes from the very second the post comes out is a plus, it influences other users' inclination to jump in and upvote (even if they don't read the posts).
In any case, subjectivity and likes/preferences plays the most important role. Big curators may have a set of criteria to bless minnows with their votes but "the eye of the beholder" has the last word.