Could this be a local board thing, where too much Merit flows towards posts that aren't objectively high quality?
I dont have data to back this but whenever I have prioritize Full Member and Sr Member account based on earned merits, I was deceived lol. I find most of them write shit when I explore their post history. Some people share merits just because they are their local user. I too share merits on the local topic and I used to prioritize that but as long as they are a quality post.