1) Two out of three of those people have 10x the subscriber count Steve does. Obviously they make a tit ton more than someone like Steve from YT views alone. I don't think creators with smaller followings need to "pay their dues" and for some bizarre reason spend years earning very little from their efforts with the hope of one day accumulating a massive following and living off Ad Sense alone, do you? Why?
2) This Macmaster person has a donation link and a crappy low effort merch store.
I don't know if he or Dale do sponsorships, I do not watch them. If they do, then that negates this entire conversation. I don't believe B&B does but I could be wrong, I don't watch him regularly.
3) And? What again is the problem with providing your supporters the option to subsidize your content? This isn't some hard sell where the bucket is being passed around the church and the struggling parish guilt tripped to donate. It's "if you like what I make and want to see more, feel free to join my Patreon".
I will also just add as a side note that Steve, like or dislike his content, is not grifting. He does not make trending, exploitative bull content. And that counts for something.