2. Yes, if quantum computing is successful, I imagine that might be good for the careers of many of the people involved in quantum computing.
3. Regarding D-Wave, there's this weird tendency to get fixated on words and definitions (but is it "really" QC or "really" analog?) even after you've explained the reality of the situation. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17426023 for my current summary.
Again, I'm skeptical that analog computers will ever be able to solve any problems outside BPP---for that I think you need a QC. (I.e., if not for quantum mechanics, I would have believed in the Extended Church-Turing Thesis. :-) ) Whether analog computers will ever again compete with digital ones on the constant factors, leaving aside the asymptotics, for problems that people actually care about, is a harder and more complicated question to which I don't know the answer.