There is quite a bit to hash out in terms of what happened back then :) Freezing the stake was the first step, but I talked to enough people at the time (top witnesses and large stakeholders) to read between the lines and know that there was never really a plan to let them have their tokens and do as they wish with them (even if they made a "promise" to abstain from governance voting).

I think this quote from you nails it: "wanting it to be used as had been made clear by the founders for years but never followed up on". They purchased tokens legally in an OTK deal from Steemit, Inc. along with the purchase of the company. There was nothing in that purchase agreement that restricted the use of their tokens. Any "loose promises" that were made between the original founders and the community were never communicated to them, and I did not see it as the witnesses role to enforce that pseudo-agreement on a new stakeholder who did not take part in the original agreement and arguably had no knowledge about it at the time they purchased the tokens.

The security of the chain was really the only valid argument that I felt was being made at the time, and I personally did not buy into the train of thought that the token freeze was the only play for that. Whether that was the right or wrong decision on my part is up for debate, but I still feel that it was the right choice for me to make at the time given what I new back then.

You are right though, there were other factors at play. I had a new job and wasn't able to spend as much time keeping up with all the activities as I used to. After I was voted out and I opened up conversations with some of the larger stakeholders about the possibility of getting back in, I could tell it was going to be an uphill battle. Sides had been chosen and I hadn't gone as far as joining the other side (like some of the witnesses at the time did) but I definitely wasn't seeing as being on the "right" side either. Based on everything that was happening at the time I decided it would be best to accept my position as a backup witness and move on with my life.

I'm still quite actively "lurking" and fulfilling what I feel is my role as a backup witness. I keep my node up to date, price feed active and accurate, and monitor the "pulse" of the community for anything important.