getting something back in return in the form of improvements OR writing code that's used by a huge group of users without ever getting anything (not even kudos) back *ever*, I'd go for option number one.
Your mistake is conflating what each license supposedly requires, with what actually happens in the real world. You're likely to get MORE back from BSD licensed code. Many companies contribute code and/or money to BSD/MIT licensed projects (e.g. Apache is doing just fine). And as I've said, there are very commonly network effects that the GPL can never get.
You can't claim the GPL's superiority IN THEORY. You've got to actually prove it in practice, and I've given several counter-examples that directly undermine your claim.
And if what MUST happen according to the letter of the license is all you've got, which seems to be the case by your repeated emphasis, then you're not so much an open source advocate, as you are an obsessive compulsive, micro-managing busybody.
Option number one is not to 'no one's benefit' it's to the benefit of members of a like minded group, with that group growing once the benefits become clearer to people outside that group
No, usually the projects completely die off in short order, and all the work benefited no-one. Back before NFSv4 came out, NFSv3 was showing its age, and there were TONS of GPL-licensed network file systems shuffling to take its place, with improved features like encryption, clustering, better security, etc. There were TONS of such projects, and every single one simply disappeared.
Those big companies you are actively seeking to harm (you said so yourself) are big supporters of open source, and are big enough forces to establish defacto standards. Sabotaging their use of your project works against your own goals.
BSD minded people probably believe that furthering technology is more important than freedom. I would rather not have cool technology if it meant that it's completely closed off and non-free.
Utter nonsense.
"BSD-minded people" MAKE freedom... They made it. It's there. You can hold it in your hands and do whatever you want with it.
"GPL-minded people" make lock-in. They yell loudly and swing a club, threatening all others out there. They don't want freedom, they want compensation in exchange for allowing anyone else to play in their sandbox. They (like you) may criticize BSD/MIT licenses left and right, but they're only too happy to take it, and lock up their changes under the GPL, never contributing anything back.