Answers:
1. Prefered them when they were a team of heroes, not a nation. I really haven't followed X-Men (which I liked a lot up to the mid 90's) ever since Schism. The Island-nation hook really made it completely unintresting for me. As for the Eternals, though you didn't ask, as with the Inhumans, IMHO, they always worked better for me in smaller doses, or as VERY special guest-stars. For exemple, love Gilgamesh and Sersi as Avengers, and loved a few of the one-shots they had over the years, however, never could really get into any of their OG series.
2. I'm waiting for it in TPB (I mostly only read things in collected format nowadays). I'm trying to keep an open mind and not get much spoilery information about it (hard to do nowadays), but, so far, of what I've glimpsed, the art seems to be the only thing I might enjoy of it. It doesn't help that I'm also not enjoying at all the current Avengers phase. However, let's see.
As for Marvel pitching fanbase against fanbase, though not a strategy I can agree with, it's something Marvel has always done to garner intrest. But I do belive that, with the internet and the generally polarized moment we are living in, this has gotten completely out of hand.
Peace