If mining is a marginal industry then Bitcoin is, and always will be, marginal. 
Bitcoin Mining is just a subset of Bitcoin. Just because mining is marginal does not make the currency itself marginal.
Correct - also, mining isn't marginal - it's the core design... without miners there isn't a bitcoin network.
That being said - Everyone needs to just stop freaking out about ASICs. a single will make what a single makes, and a rig will make what a rig makes... You'll still be struggling for some percentage of the entire network. We need to start focusing on growing bitcoin as a network, instead of just profit taking.
Lets get those transactions fees high enough to replace the block reward entirely. Yes? Great...
Agreed. Everyone benefits from growing the network. At the very least there will be much more stability. If it grows enough then the price per BTC should increase as well. And yes more transactions could make the transaction fees earned by miners actually worth it.