I have to agree with you there. I didn't think it was too much of a good thing that small nations get the guarantee to get an ATG every season. That wouldn't make sense anymore.
And in conclusion:
Yes, bot players must be removed from the count because they're useless. The 19-year-olds hardly have a chance for the NT, because they simply missed a year (though I know there are some good examples, but this is rather an exception)
And finally:
We are talking about the competitiveness of nations and here, incentives should be created elsewhere. Nations with many users and larger draft pools simply have a huge advantage and it would be good to somehow reduce this difference.