Definitely agree, it's a nice hybrid best of both worlds situation.

Yes, I think there's some of that! Not just the Fediverse, but the fact that many of the leading social media platforms aee struggling and people are looking for alternatives is a return to a stage with many social media existing and developping their own culture, without an all-powerful central one. I also feel like I'ce been seing more individual websites, even some small ones without much content, and some young people, myself included, have recently discovered RSS and started using it. I fear that only applies to a minority of people so far. I think too many have gotten used the convenience of letting a company do everything for them, they're not embracing freedom, but already looking for a new overlord or still sticking with the last one.

"Maybe, eventually finding a way to consistently open links to other instances/services in a way that opens it in your preferred instance/service"

This already exists as a TamperMonkey script iirc

I think we'll eventually need some kind of suggested content feed available for a low effort method to expand interests. I have been using the all feed to discover new stuff but I haven't subscribed to new stuff using All in the last couple of weeks. I usually search a few times within subjects I'm actively pursuing at any given time, but I am unlikely to search for the more peripherally entertaining type of content that I may really appreciate if it is suggested based on peer networking only.

I never thought of it that way. The answer is definitely yes

It's a return to form, new advancements without the corperate baggage.