@MichaelA Yo Michael,Soundcloud has it's share of spammers and follower collectors,along with the fools who pay for likes and plays. I regularly come across posters who are showing 100k plays,yet few of those supposed listeners bothered to leave a comment. I purposely won't follow those people,nor the follower collectors who follow you to get you to follow them,then after a while they unfollow you. It's all a bit sad and nothing to do with music.
Regarding your daily plays going down Michael,it's all dependant on the time you can spend on the cloud. When you find that core of s/c members who are into sharing their music and listening to the music of others,then not only will your listening and commenting be returned to you,but also the collaborations door will also be opened. Much fun to be had! All this must be tempered with the time you have free,of course. It's a balance.
After a while,you get a feel for those who are not using the platform as you would do and in turn you learn to spot the genuine article.
Following someone is the last thing I do in the process,quite often I'll have commented and liked the music of others long before I follow them.
Hope some of this rubbish helps Michael.
Davy.