Tell me I am crazy here...
1: Coding requires time. Cloning does not (Monero being a Bytecoin clone). So V1 is out of the question.
2: Monero has a lot of issues in the usability and compatibility departments, and from what I read in their thread, serious bloat issues (?). If that's the problem now, then how the hell is this gonna scale in 3-5-10 years?
3. By V2 of DRK, Monero will be a subset of DRK's capabilities and DRK will have more anonymous features + bitcoin-level of usability and compatibility. So long-term hold prospect for Monero doesn't look good in that sense. It could be a short-term hedge for DRK though.
4. Evan will not stop with DRK's evolution after the anonymity job is finished. He has plans for killer mainstream features. At least I remember he said that when DarkSend is finished he'll implement something he believes will be a smash. I've no idea what it is.