It's almost depressing that I'm number 12 here and have only helped out 5 newbies. I actually made it a point to try harder to merit some newbies since the last time this data was posted, but as usual I have a very hard time finding posts good enough to merit. I did feel pretty confident with the merits I handed out to the noobs this time around--their posts were pretty good if I remember correctly. Props to the members who made it high on the list--it's still important to help out newcomers (but only if they're deserving).
My requirements for Newbies are really low: if I think it's a real user and not a spammer, I'll Merit him/her. I strongly believe that's what Bitcointalk (and Bitcoin) needs to grow long-term.
I agree with the second part of what you wrote, but I can't bring myself to lower my standards that much when it comes to low-ranked members. While not all of them are spammers, I do think that the vast majority of their posts are of very low quality and are made primarily for bounties or signature campaigns, which has been the case for years now.