Thing is, I barely see any merits being given around, especially to new users, except in specific threads where OGs are active.

Maybe there should be a mechanism where members who can't give merits yet are able to "like" or "recommend" certain quality posts so that it can be reviewed for merit? Members identifying quality posts meanwhile could also be rewarded with merits? Otherwise I feel that it will only reward those who post in more popular threads, while more obscure ones get ignored regardless of the content's usefulness/quality.