I can't blame you for not liking them, you would have shocked the hell out of me if you did.
I can understand the main criticism of Porcupine Tree, while I don't consider them to be an imitation of anybody, their sound isn't too "unique". But I don't think that takes away from the quality of their music in any way. At least in my opinion.
I can't say how important a band PT will be in the future, or the impact they will have on this so called prog revival. PT have gotten pretty popular and are getting younger people interested in prog rock, so I'm very happy about that.
But I think what we really need is a band that can completely reinvent the genre of prog. The Mars Volta have come closer to this than anyone else, but everyone hates them, hipsters and proggies alike. Tis a shame because I think they're great, but it's to be expected when you mix two completely different styles like prog and punk together. The funny thing with prog fans is, they praise progressive rock for how revolutionary and innovative it was at it's conception, but today you won't even be considered prog if you're too innovative.
PT aren't innovative, they're just good, and they're just original enough, so they keep prog fans happy. Though I must admit I'm a bit suprised by how well recieved they are by prog fans because they usually whine like bitches whenever a band blenRAB prog with pop, as Porcupine Tree does. But I think people are starting to miss the point of what prog actually is. Prog was very innovative in the early 70s, but then everything became rather cliche after that and by 80s until now any "true" prog band is expected to not really do anything different from the prog banRAB of the 70s, tis a shame.