Thanks for the responses. Very useful in my quest to determine which anoni-coin to support.
But, too bad you can't rein in the relentless trollers in the Dash thread. They are delusional to think their tactics will convert anyone on the fence (in a Dash thread, lol), and in fact, initially turned me against Monero.
I really don't know if Monero can succeed against the advantages that Dash is using so well, the marketing and user friendliness. Because a coin without a user base, a robust network, seems rather pointless. Nevertheless, it's a good fight, very entertaining. But it's not enough to have more ability. You still have to win in the ring.
It's not encouraged by anyone and personally I will spar in the trollbox on Polo with any coin, but I never go into the Dash thread to troll. I think most of us would not bother (irrespective of our feelings on a coin) as it seems a bit like playground stuff.
Dash has leaped ahead, yes - but how sustainable pure marketing is without the tech to back it up, remains to be seen. Dash has little real use (no coin has really got traditional retail traction) and the security of network is not a point I would concede given the centralised nature of Dash and it's old-tech based upon BTC code.
Anonymity is a seriously valuable battle ground, the prize is worth fighting for but it's a little early to bet on a winner in crypto. Price is no indicator of success; BTC is at all time highs, yet even the most important crypto it is riven with infighting and may even have a contentious hard fork split, plus the transactions back up and cost of transactions shows it is not working nearly as well as it should.
Everyone agrees a 'privacy coin' has a place, but it's a way to go. ETH had a fork, ZEC, a disastrous launch. I would at least hedge my bets if I were you. Monero's tech is superior, even if Dash is stealing the limelight for now.
Good luck with whatever you do.