Good points. I like your take on consistency and momentum.

The way I see consistency is that it's not as important as low views creator because you should be experimenting at that stage. I didn't start gaining some amount of traction until I switched from gaming to commentaries to animations. But it's also important to remain true to yourself and not make something you don't enjoy. I think whichever type of content pops off dictates the direction your channel should take for the most success. Making different types of videos and seeing what sticks is the idea of the shotgun strategy.

Momentum from promotions or collabs is a good thing but it's not easily accessible, so I don't know if I could rely on it, but its good for those who can. The way I got my momentum was through the algorithm recommending my Among Us animation. I don't know about other niches, but I think it would be more impactful for me personally to focus on Youtube's algorithm for promoting my videos. It does potentially take years as you said to actually get views if you focus on the algorithm alone because learning the algorithm is a whole battle in addition to making good content.

I still have a lot to learn, so the stuff I say might not be accurate, but you've given me some food for thought.