1) Personally, I feel that Stefan and Caroline are both being delusional and are hell bent on making Elena human again... They just cannot digest that she has changed a bit and are coming up with weird ideas to justify elena's change and to comfort themselves... (Caroline was seriously annoying and such a hypocrite in this episode, it's ok for her to jump from one guy to another, regardless of their personality or likeability, but Elena can't explore her emotions for Damon just because Caroline feels Damon isn't a nice vampire 😕
2) Elena can clearly see that Stefan just can not love her the same way as he did before. He cannot accept the new her while Damon said that he will always love her no matter she is a human or a vampire. Why didn't Stefan divulge this to Caroline? I bet he knows that he has screwed up big time and is hoping to have her best friends fight the case on his behalf. Furthermore, Elena loved Stefan cause he came into her life when she needed comfort and protection after her parents died right? I feel that Damon is providing that comfort and protection to her post-transition... He has been the only one of the few that has accepted her for who she is... So I don't blame her for her decision (as long as she sticks with it)
3) Being sired implies that Elena would follow all of Damon's orders. Whether the bond is because of Damon's blood being the one that made her a vampire or the blood sharing that went down... She has not been following his orders blindly! She has taken a stand against him, post both events. I feel when klaus smirked while seeing delena together, it was because of her switching the Salvatore's and possibly sticking to Damon for good or his hunch of a sire bond (he does not stick with elena around the clock, so it's forgivable if he has misinterpreted it)
This is what I feel after watching episode 7 and the whole illogical sire track being added... I hope the CVs don't screw up big time for the live triangle by insisting that she was really sired, that would totally piss the shippers off