I think all of the posts you make are absolutely valid. The competition has always been and always will be skewed to a G18 bias and is a corporate uber-fest of the most sickening proportions.
Its such a shame really, because prior to this modern phenomenon and the G14 and seedings, the football took centre-stage, and there really was the opportunity to witness superb European football / culture without the sullied fingers of self-interested 'elite' clubs, UEFA, global business and TV well and truly fouling up what was a magical experience. That's how a club such as Nottingham Forest could win two titles.
I remember witnessing a game of ours against Twente Enschede in '78, that was an absolute master class in European football from both sides, and it felt like an unadulterated football experience, nothing less. The football and the occasion were everything. Now, i tend to agree with the original poster that there is an agenda, subtle? on the pitch but absolutely stark and undeniable off it (such as FFP, the unfair seeding system and Sepp Blatter's 'problematic' stewardship of FIFA).
I place much more importance in a domestic title won over 38 games, in a league where there is a palpable sense of real competition and a spirit of fair play, i don't sense this in European competition, in fact there appears to be a strong sense of the opposite - a purposeful 'gravity' denying anyone access to the party.