Bitcoin being the base crypto in the cryptoworld, it is already expected that altcoins' market value is dragged down whenever bitcoin falls down too. That's the very reason everyone who are holding until 2017 when bitcoin's price rises drastically because their altcoins rise significantly too.
You are absolutely right, there is a similarity and in turn is a dependency that exists between Bitcoin and the Altcoins, otherwise the possibility that the survival altcoins have is that they always depend on Pump and Dump.
Not only that but there are lot of coins who really doesn't have that ability to elevate the price because the dev's completely stop their roadmaps and schedules. So the true potential if any has been hindered by the people behind the coins.