1. I am not really following any one thing. I have recently started to browse them and figure out which chain has most buzz under them other than eth for future potential, but i also want them to be affordable.

2. Yes, practical uses are coming, but not in a way we think about nfts now. I've already said this example, but nfts are already being used to represent liquidity pools in uniswap. That's how it's going to work. As a tech underneath, not as some collectables. But collectable nfts with linked images aren't going anywhere either, and NFTs will always be known for them only.

There might be some gaming related nfts, but that works only if the platform that games are in are decentralized. I don't think any big games will risk legal consequences as people don't even own the games these days. They just own the access to play games, which can be taken away.

3. Trend isn't going to be anything radical imho, but some new collectables and old big ones, like these: