OK, a lot to get stuck into there, but lets give it a go.
Sorry about the bum link. Hope you found it interesting when you got there.
Jumping around your post a bit, firstly, I don't understand your point 3 I'm afraid. Perhaps if the following doesn't answer your question, then you'd like to rephrase it.
FTA is Free to Air. You can legally view these channels anywhere you can physically receive them.
FTV is Free to View. These channels are encrypted and you'll need a $ky card to view them, but you don't need to subscribe. These are the channels you'll get on your existing card once you cancel. Channel 4, Five and ITV are examples. Pull out your 'expired' or FTV card, and you lose the ability to view them. Obviously legal if you have the correct card from $ky.
Encrypted. You will require a subscription, which obviously costs money. Generally speaking, viewing anything other than a $ky subscription in the UK is probably illegal as $ky has an exclusivie deal and subscriptions aimed at other countries are NOT supposed to be sold to UK residents.
The other way to watch encrypted channels is to use one or more of the various techniques to open them illegally. Now you are into a very time consuming hobby, and no longer just watching TV.
Rolfw is dead right. Viewing channels this way is not at all reliable and is not for those that want a 1:1 replacement for $ky. The channel line up often won't hold a candle to $ky UK most of the time, and the reliability is non-existant. It's just pot luck.
Tackling your last point, "endless channels full of drivel is not for me" might indicate that non-$ky satellite viewing is not for you, mainly for the reasons above. The better channels either cost a lot more on subscription, or are harder to open illegally. "I pay £20/month - a lot in return for what i see" - yes I can relate to that, and that is why I refuse to pay. The alternative however is the hobby I'm now involved in and not just 'switching providers' like you would with your ISP for example.
$ky DOES have a stranglehold in this country. Yes they are all-powerful, and yes, in all probability they are reading this thread.
You might find that much of the programming you like can be had on Top-up TV. Check it out if you havn't already. You could then supplement that with a good FTA sat system.
Finally, your "best you can buy" point. I can agree with the principal, but you need to understand the difference between the Dreambox and other STB satellite receivers. It's really dificult for us to assess your level of competance not knowing anything about you so forgive us that, but it's more akin to a Linux computer than a satellite receiver. In fact, the former is exactly what it is.
That's what makes it so flexible and so powerful. Only for dedicated folks involved in this very time consuming hobby, it requires much maintenance in terms of file updates from your computer network etc. Endless hours trawling the Internet for patches and how-to's etc.
Many folks who own them are more interested in computing than satellite viewing (myself included). I spend far more time fixing it and talking about it than watching it. It's aimed squarely at the illegal encryption cracking brigade.
Hope this helps.
