OP, I read the whole thread, good job for trying it out for yourself. I'm sure you learned a lot from this journey. Bravo brate
I honestly believe that the only way to actually turn some nice profit in the PTC game is by getting a lot of Direct Referrals, that's it, the only way...
And one more thing, it's not just about getting the direct referrals. A lot of sites have this "catch" where if you don't login for a day and click on 4 or more ads, then you won't earn anything from your referrals tomorrow. So if one thinks of getting a lot of referrals and then just raking in passive income from what the referrals earn, one will have to find sites that do not use that trick strategy.
For example, Twickerz has that, if you don't login today and click on at least 4 ads, then you won't earn anything from your referrals tomorrow... I think clixsense doesn't have that "rule", but I'm not completely sure...
But then again, I would advise anyone who is serious about making money online to try a ptc site or two, you will see what other people are doing, you will learn some things, you will gain a little money, cents, but you will gain knowledge...