Oh yeah I totally agree with you which is why I'm against s1 servers.
Yeah it might be a lot more balanced and less of a clusterf**k than later content but the biggest problem with it is that the players have been there and seen all there is in s1. They can and do get bored within a matter of days.
Servers based on s2 are almost getting like that now. Because of high rate imbalanced indo servers, players have seen and done pretty much everything there is in s2 and as such, get bored of playing those quickly.
That's why everyone wants s3 now. More content and stuff they haven't seen or experienced yet.
From a developer standpoint, s1 all day long for me but from a player's perspective, the vast majority want s3 with a few still happy with s2. There's only a handful left who appreciate the simplicity of s1 and it unfortunately isn't enough for a viable server. If you're looking to create a successful, populated server, you have to go with the status quo. Fighting against it, no matter how much you believe in something, will only lead to failure.