Muninwing - 'AOS wasn't what was needed.' What you actually mean was AoS wasn't what was needed by you. By 'You' I mean the Royal You - including your gaming group etc.
Your commentary about how many minis you have bought in the last 5 years, for me, proves something - that you are not the target demographic.
AoS is about bringing in new blood and countering several criticisms about the problems of entr to WFB - cost and complexity. AoS has completely wiped those arguments away.
So, in order to ahcieve that, WFB wasn't what was needed - AoS may be the cleverest thing in terms of measure of effectiveness - coming up with a plan that achieves objectives - that a company has done for a while.
I offer no commentary as to whether I agree or not - I am just trying to empathise with the plan from the GW perspective. And, as I said, AoS was what they thought they needed.