Concerning Elementary and Solus..
IIRC.. (If I Remember Correctly for the noobs) Elementary and Solus both started out as Ubuntu distros in the early days of their respective Desktop Environment development.
I think that knowledge might help develop your thoughts about this issue @Brucehankins.
Elementary is excellent for the people who want to run a version of Linux that feels like a Mac.
Solus is hands down the most stable, secure and reliable version of Linux that I have ever run, regardless of Desktop Environment, and that comes from design, development, and implementation working towards a stateless system.
Elementary still feels like a Ubuntu-based distro that has been drastically customized..
Solus feels like.. the best version of Linux that I have the ability to run regardless of Desktop Environment.