You said everything that I think, but the truth is that as long as people keep spending money on stuff that follow the same old, tired mechanics, there's not much we can do about it. And there's tons of money to be made, apparently. TES: Online, Star Wars: TOR, great sagas gone MMO because money. Who cares if they're shallow as hell and destroy something good and meaningful.
I really hope what you say will come true. I am somewhat skeptical, but I hope you're right about MMOs changing in the future.