Apparently the only thing LTC offered was GPU mining. As that goes with scrypt ASICs, apparently so goes LTC.

So in that respect, I agree Monero and XCN appear most poised to fill that position of weakness (beating a dying competitor isn't that impressive). GPU miners might prefer not having to compete with botnets, so XCN might win that position. And ASICs would follow for XCN.

Anonymity seems to have nothing to do with it.

This is a crucially important point because my opinion is that if you want to scale CPU-only (away from botnets and rented hardware), you need a broader distribution strategy than Monero has.

P.S. I want anonymity. But I don't think it is enough to drive anything by itself. Anonymity in a coin that could scale very fast, would make me very excited.