Hi @roleerob!
I agree with your highlighted points, but wonder at the SF 22.2 approach, as to how wise (most people do not respond favorably to "negotiating" with a gun held to their head) that was ...
It's hard to tell, how wise the surprising SF really was. I heard something like 'direct communication has not been possible' and this might have been the trigger for the made decision. The top witnesses know best which things went wrong in the past and I guess they could not just ignore all those bad experiences. I think there was also a bit of fear involved.
If Justin understands the reasons for the action (what I think he will), the teams stick together and begin to talk about them personally, it can all work out very well. May be even better than it would have gone without making such a strong point. Over the years they were watching how Steemit was selling large amounts of their stake again and again and finally there was this new 'unknown' owner. Unknown in the sense of 'we don't know how that dude will use Steemit's stake'.
I don't think that Mr. Sun made a costly mistake. He seems to be a nice guy and it looks like the Steemit team will have more to say/decide than it was previously the case, which in my opinion will benefit the whole company. Time will tell, but I'm still optimistic and I see a first light at the end of the tunnel.