I'll tend to agree with you, Vitalik used to be a bitcoin developer (correct me If I'm wrong), but he sees something different that's why he started his own project and called it Ethereum. And guess what, it become so successful that Ethereum is synonymous to Vitalik Buterin already. So he is very influential to blockchain technology itself and one of the prominent figures and we could say that only Satoshi Nakamoto's name is more recognised than him in crypto space.
I think Vitalik began in the crypto/Blockchain space way before Dan Larimer. Some people consider Vitalik to be Ethereum's version of Satoshi Nakamoto because of his years of experience in the industry. He's an early crypto figure recognized by many people worldwide. Creating the world's first smart contract platform powered by the Blockchain, Vitalik has obtained mainstream recognition unlike any other figure in the crypto/Blockchain space. While Dan invented DPoS and the world's first decentralized exchange powered by Blockchain technology (someone correct me if I'm wrong), most of his projects are now "flying off the radar". Bitshares and STEEM are very unpopular these days in the crypto/Blockchain space. Dan's latest creation (dubbed EOS) mimics Ethereum, so we can't speak of originality here. Many claimed EOS to be the "Ethereum Killer" only to find that they were wrong about it. The level of centralization on EOS is high, making it an unsuitable competitor against Ethereum.
In the end, I believe that Vitalik Buterin will have all the attention in the mainstream world since all the projects he's been involved with, have been widely successful in the mainstream world. Daniel Larimer will still be a prominent figure in the crypto/Blockchain space. But he won't be as recognized the same way as Vitalik. Both figures have their respective strengths and weaknesses which can be used for the advancement of Blockchain technology. By combining ideas, we can make crypto land a better place. Just my thoughts
