My $0.02 is that you quickly rid yourself of pre-conceived ideas of what "bonding" with them looks like, and that they be show cats. You have to embrace who they are, not what you'd like them to be. Bengals aren't "normal" cats in some sense. What I discovered with mine is that you find the things that *they* most like, and do lots of *that*, and that's how bonding begins. For mine, it was mostly play. Serafina couldn't (and still can't) get enough of chasing dabird and similar interactive toys around, practicing her hunting skills, while Gaga wanted (and still wants) to chase bouncy balls that I throw and she fetches. They also have favorite treats, and giving them those certainly greases the wheels. When someone new comes to the house, and wants to hang out with the bengals, I usually give them some treats, and give them one of the rod toys, and pretty soon they are friends
It's real common for bengals not to like being picked up. 6+ years in and my bengals still don't like being picked up for more than 30 sec or so. Both of mine have become cats that do like to cuddle, do like affection (petting, rubbing under the chin etc), but it did take them a few years to crave that.
As far as showing goes... I'm not an expert (I've only been to a couple of shows and never had any cats that performed at one) but what I've seen is the biggest barrier to a cat getting to be a show cat isn't their markings it's their temperament! And some cats just don't want to be show cats. There was even a "My Cat From Hell" episode about that. Sometimes you just have to respect that I think...