Linux is basically a national security issue at this point with how much runs on it. Linus is an interesting dictator because he's not bound to any corporation. I think some kind of kernel throne wars would be terrible for the community and could result in Red Hat or some other corporate overlord owning the kernel (not literally because of trademarks but effectively through the release and mainline).

Yep. I imagine many Jia Tan's are lining up for dictator/maintenance roles.

Yes, but also most people would probably not want that to happen to the Linux kernel. That's why people wonder about contingencies.