If you read through this thread, meeh's blog (link in this thread), anoncoin subreddit and @anoncoinproject on twitter I think you get good answers for all your questions.

I am confident that Anoncoin will be superior to darkcoin, zerocash and others.

The devs are really competent and their motive for being involved in this project seems to be different compared to the competition. The Anoncoin project is about  creating a truly anonymous currency.

Most coins purpose is to enrich the devs/early adopters. First you got the instamine/premine, then hype and then dumping. To start a new coin is easy and if the coin dont get the attention they need to make money, the devs just leave it and come up with a new idea/consept.

You should also compare Anoncoin and darkcoin distribution. Anoncoin block size is 5 coins and it will be 5 coins for 2 whole years before the block reward halves. Anoncoin have been around for 9 months and proven itself many times over. Darkcoin is 50 days old and started out with a block size of 500 coins and the block size is now only 20 coins.