Counterparty is too slow. It's not smart to use btc's blockchain either way....BTC will eventually fall (to other cryptocurrencies), and so will the coins tied with it.
Alternatives will take time to build up. The problem with Clearinghouse is , although VIA is custom built and fast, it does not have the distribution of BTC.
So what you're saying is dogeparty?
Dogeparty is a nice compromise between Counterparty and Clearinghouse, it just has the right combination of speed/community support/distribution. I see Dogeparty being more successful in the future than both of those. Just wait for someone to actually start trading serious with Counterparty, they'll be cursing the slowness of Bitcoin blockchain with every trade, not exactly a good user experience. What we're seeing now is a usual marketing hype, Auroracoin type, with no fundamental reasons, pure guesstimates and hyped beliefs.