Yes clones are bad for original stakeholders of XMR 
I didn't get the memo to get in on XMR from any of them so why should that matter to others? Not sure what if any improvements have been made with Aeon or will be made but I do think I read about potential instamine or premine in XMR but I can't say if it is true or not.
There is no istantmine or premine in XMR. You are not going to see any improvements in Aeon except copying XMR improvements and this with lag. You can still get in XMR. There is real future in Monero..You dont need to place orders at peak. Place orders lower...
XMR is owned by whales who manipulate hashrate and prices. I like Aeon much more from that point of view. And hoping that community will help to enhance the coin. It's not "hype", no "to the moon", no ducks nor "China is joining". It may be a code copycat but I've seen worse. It's alive and kickin' somehow and I believe it has a bright future.
But keep mining/buying what you like
