2. Bitshares isn't really a coin as such, like the others. So why are we viewed as a competitor to bitcoin rather than complimentary to facilitate transactions?
Welcome!
BTS shares the same store-of-value function in the Bitshares blockchain that BTC does in the Bitcoin blockchain. Both are similar to gold in this aspect. (Store of value of course does not mean price stable. Gold fluctuates in price a lot).
Bitcoin has the added benefit over gold of being transferable anywhere around the world in 10 minutes, with a network limit of 7 TPS (until they change the blocksize).
Bitshares has the added benefit over gold of being transferable anywhere in the world in 1 second, with a network limit of 100,000 TPS (once Bitshares 2.0 releases). Additionally it acts as collateral that allows you to create SmartCoins, that is, price stable currencies, linked to the value of a dollar, euro, yuan, gold, silver, stock market index, etc. (Nothing in bitcoin does this) Additionally it provides voting stake in the running of the blockchain, and its policies. Additionally it allows you to collect dividends from the profit created by the blockchain fees. (These last two are equivalent to hash power in bitcoin, which requires you to burn energy to get them, while in Bitshares you do not have to burn energy).
This is why BTS can be seen as a competitor to Bitcoin. (One with far greater technical potential, but that potential is not yet realized due to still 'being in beta', and not having as large of a network effect).
On the other hand, Bitshares could end up working together with Bitcoin. Bitshares can serve as the trading exchange, like Bitfinex or Bitstamp, but without the possibility of being hacked, and with all balances visible on the blockchain so that you can be sure that someone isnt running a fractional reserve scheme. In this mode, Bitshares acts like a profitable DOA (I avoided saying company or corporation), making profits on trades, and distributing them to shareholders (via burning of fees). That is, people buy BTS to use the network, driving the price up, and then some of the BTS is burned to pay for the transaction fee. In this scenario, Bitcoin could maintain its store of value function, while Bitshares generates profits for holders while being complementary to bitcoin.
Bitshares doesn't have to take over and become the #1 cryptocurrency in order to be a success. (Unlike all the bitcoin copy, proof of work coins, which have no purpose except to try to become the store of value by replacing bitocin, or to try to become the backup in case bitcoin fails, like litecoin). Bitshares can succeed by competing against Bitfinex and OkCoin and so on (or getting them to adopt it themselves, joining the Bitshares exchange network, as the CCEDK exchange is doing).
It looks to me that the focus right now is on option #2. If Bitshares becomes a profitable exchange but never makes it farther than that, it would still be a success. It would increase greatly in value, and pay dividends.
Stage 1 (becoming an exchange) is collaborative with other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It helps people trade them without being subject to the risk of having coins on exchanges, and getting Goxxed.
But it might be able to go farther. It might be able to supplant Bitcoin as a store of value as well (if it takes off and gets heavily adopted, first for use as a trading platform). Or rather than supplanting Bitcoin as the store of value coin, Bitshares might succeed in other functions, such as becoming the voting system for elections, the DNS system of the web, or prediction markets, and so on. These are added possibilities but not requirements for success. Its kindof like how Tesla has started out by making cars, but really they have a dream of changing how the world uses and stores energy. The cars are just the first stage, to get them a revenue stream, and adoption, so they can build their dream.
It makes sense to focus on the first measure of success first, which is to become a profitable exchange, paying dividends to BTS holders. This also ensures a revenue stream and thus secures the future of the project. (Funding issues have been the primary threat so far to Bitshares, the crypto bear market was brutal).
Hopefully you will come to see the potential of Bitshares. It has many levels. Hopefully the devs can succeed in getting us a strong product, and then the community can succeed in promoting it to a high level of success. Hopefully we can make it to at least the first marker of success: a profitable exchange. And then after that we can see if the project can change the world.