I disagree with your train of thought. LTC, NMC, and PPC all sustain very original ideas that separate them from each other along with a solid dev team. NMC is probably the most original and might end up being one of the most successful. It's understandably skeptical to believe that .bit domains will become dominant in the near future over alternative domains, but nobody can really predict the future of technology. If the tech and access to such domains were to improve, perhaps a consumer base would be interested in having access to internet and marketplaces outside of the regulation of governments.

I do trade regularly between many of the alt coins on BTC-e mainly because I study all of the charts out of boredom anyway and if I see a strong indicator on a certain crypto, I see no reason not to throw some funds in to test out my theories.