In my opinion, merit should be given based on the quality of a post and how useful and relevant that post is.

• If the post is good and the topic is old and known to everyone then it should be awarded 1-2 merits.
• If the post is new and useful then it should be given 2-3 merits.
• If the post is too good and benefits more users, then it should be given 5 merits and more.

The maximum smerits a person should give to a post should be below 10. Even though if that post deserves more merits than 10, there are many other members who will be giving the merits. So the number of smerits should be equally distributed to the deserving posts.