SL broke AO really. it's game mechanics were never really terribly good, but pre-SL they worked well enough. SL pushed them past that point and showed up their inherent weaknesses, and nothing has ever been done to sort that (in fact, the matter has just been made worse).
I don't think tinkering around the edges is going to sort that. I'm also not sure we'll get everything that is really needed, though hopefully we'll get enough to get us back to only "a bit broken". Time will tell I guess.