To most of the OP's original point (except for the last paragraph, which meanders off-point):
As a launch player I agree. This meta is by far the most boring in 3+ years. But, I don't think CG cares. Player enjoyment is secondary (if that high) to them. As long as the whales keep allowing themselves to milked for the newest meta-defining ship or character, CG will simply keep releasing one after the other.
Sadly, the number of whales quitting isn't showing up in the data the way you might think, because their accounts aren't going inactive. If CG would simply look at the number of whale accounts that have suddenly changed time-zones, names and activity times, they would realize what most long-time guilds knew months ago - most intelligent whales are quitting and simply "giving" their accounts to other guild members.
We had 3 of biggest spenders leave the game - and all of their accounts are still "active".
But CG either hasn't figured it out yet or doesn't really care. Either is a concerning conclusion.