Forget about smart contracts for another year or 2. ETH is being ruined by bad smart contracts for scam ICOs.
What I see here that is very promising is SSL encryption between nodes. Hard to believe that wasn't done before, because cleartext protocol is a huge vulnerability and privacy concern. The web implemented HTTPS ten+ years ago.
Yeah, I also think SSL encryption is the most noteworthy achievement, and it is difficult to believe it hadn't been done yet. You also make an interesting point about smart contracts being used to make scammy ICOs on ETH being it's real problem. I suspect the rapid increase in regulatory scrutiny on ICOs (at least in the US) will curb those abuses, which might make it safer for the second generation of smart contract platforms to launch*. Or it could be a total train wreck... That's crypto for you.
* - the old saw, "you can always tell the pioneers: they are the ones face down in the mud with arrows in their backs," seems to apply here.