There's so many out there representing themselves as paragons of Hive when a glance at their wallets clearly shows they are abusing extractors...and I'll not support them.

Keep adding to your stake, I did that from th very start in June 2017 and have watched my stake grow and grow. I also power up as soon as the Hive is sitting there, no point waiting a week or month because in that time it's not earning curation; having it powered up makes it work harder and builds one's stake faster. Anyway, it's more fun with more stake so good luck with the future.