Peercoin uses centrally broadcast checkpoints to secure the network from the "nothing at risk" problem inherent in PoS? You talk about trust but the entire decentralized network works only with implicit trust in the developer. If the developer (by coercion, threat of violence, or for his own personal gain) broadcast checkpoints which supports a shorter chain all clients would jump to that chain immediately.
If I've understood your previous positions on the matter, correctly, is it safe to say that you feel that checkpoints aren't inherently a bad thing, but if those checkpoints are "real-time," vs. reactionary (for security), that's when it crosses the line?
For the typical user of cryptocurrencies today, and into the future, the "implicit trust in the developer" may be enough. There are a very small number of people in the World that actually understand how this all works -- if it looks like it's a good idea, people will gravitate to it. Do you know how your bank's back-end system is set up? Do you trust that it works?
I agree with you that a World without checkpoints would be infinitely better than a World with them, but all things considered, if they are a concern for Peercoin, it only should follow that they are a concern (though maybe slightly less) for Bitcoin, right?
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