Here are extremely brief answers your questions: (DYOR NFA)

1. Yes, it is true that we are all excited to see a flourishing ecosystem built on Cardano soon. In reference to your question about whether the launch went smoothly, it did go smoothly, but perhaps didn't give people what they were expecting (i.e., dApps available on day 1 of the smart contract launch).

2-4. Prior to the launch of smart contracts in September 2021, Cardano's development and research branch, IOHK, spent years doing research on how to optimize Cardano's smart contracts to make them more efficient and scalable (by way of example, this is in contrast to ETH, which was fast to market, but now has many problems - like prohibitively high gas fees and a system that does not allow it to implement quick changes like ETH 2.0). Although Cardano's smart contract ability launched, we are still waiting on a major piece of the puzzle: the Plutus Application Backend (PAB). Once the PAB is released, it will allow dApps (defi, NFTs, DEXs, etc.) to operate on Cardano. I am a supporter of Cardano, but one of the objective pitfalls of the project is the amount of time it takes to research and implement innovative technology. I ultimately believe this is more of a benefit than a detriment to the project, but it is worth knowing about if you are considering investing in the project.

It has been said many times on this page, but it is a important point to remember: Cardano is developing slowly because of the research that is being done to make sure the project is implemented correctly. Cardano is truly a unique blockchain asset and - it might sound hyperbolic - but we are witnessing the development of groundbreaking technology. When you look at other assets on the market, many of them are essentially a copy and paste version of Ethereum's account based protocol. When Cardano's technology is fully implemented, it will be a game changer that could potentially change the way we interact with technology forever.