I have invested my own money into Steem as well. I started off as a minnow getting .10 returns, so I eventually turned to the bots for an increased payout.
I do think/speculate that the price of Steem will increase over the coming year(s), that is why I am still on this platform. If they do dump the bot service, I'm probably going to leave as well as I do not have any whale/dolphins following/supporting me or my posts.