I'm the OP, and I'm grateful for all of the viewpoints expressed here. As it turns out, the issue becomes irrelevant for my upcoming trip because we had to change flights due to weather at <T-36. So we'll both likely have lousy B or C positions together.

Nevertheless, I do consider the form of seat saving I've seen recently to be bordering on jerk. Person #1 has BS or is A List Preferred. He boards one position ahead of me, grabs the aisle in Row #2, throws his carryon on the window seat and his briefcase on the middle seat. People walk on by. His colleague boards with the last of the Bs and takes the "saved" window. The middle stays open. Right before the door close, the FA makes him stow the carry on under the middle seat, which stays open while most of the other middle seats are occupied.

I watch this whole thing play out from Row 3. I guess nobody else seemed to mind, but it still struck me as a bit unfair. I would never object or try to force myself into a "saved" seat in that situation. But I also wouldn't want to do something similar-- or even appear to be. The whole WN "experience" generally is okay thanks to the decency and cooperation of most of the people who fly it. If it degenerates to attitudes of me first and every man for himself, that will truly suck.