I think everyone is over thinking this wayyyy to much. These are fun ranks, not trust ranks, or favoritism ranks, or any kind of rank besides fun. Everyone is taking them so seriously, which is why people are worried about their "abuse" in the first place.
Maybe someone hits 10k posts, and they are a nice, active user, what's wrong with them being given a simple fun rank? Or when someone wins a contest, instead of just the bland "competition winner" rank, they could choose from among the fun ranks like it used to be.
The only reason a fun rank is associated with trust or a high social status is because your making it out to be that way.