ERC-20 == scamcoin. Very different from this.

An ERC20 token is a token that conforms to the ERC20 protocol, that's all that ERC20 means.

Are there currently any ERC tokens with applicable utility other than wild speculation and claims about unproven future features which the ERC20 tokens are created in completely arbitrary (artificial scarcity, sidestepping SEC IPO investments) limited amounts for?

If some of these projects go on to produce open source software of worth it won't all be for nothing.

Associating the ERC-20 protocol with the current mania and nonsense of cryptocurrencies doesn't seem fair. It's simply a method of creating a sub-currency, which yes is often unnecessary but marketing is a powerful force so it happens.

Having seen small rural communities try and fail to create their own local currency years ago it's only a matter of time before some try again digitally.

Numeraire for example (NMR) is a ERC-20 token which has a real-world application today.

You can say that about 99% of the ICO's. That doesn't make them good investments.