Ummm, ever considered that there might be a relationship between the two? Updates mean investment, and the AoC community isn't large enough to justify sizeable investments. Any major investment would be a risk, and we all know that Funcom isn't exactly in a financial position that would encourage risk-taking...
Why should they? There's still enough people who enjoy the game sufficiently to pay their subs. It's not Funcom "milking" these people, it's adult persons deciding that they want to spend their money on a 5-year old game which is unlikely to see major updates in the future. A bad choice? Most people would probably think so, but in the end it's a question of each individual customer's opportunity costs.
Of course, in the ideal world AoC would not be where it is now. It would have launched without major bugs or content gaps, but with a working PvP consequence system. Funcom would not have invested in TSW, but would have used the money to further develop and market AoC. PvP would not have been made a grindfest. Etc etc. We regret many of these decisions. I am sure that, with hindsight, many people (formerly) at Funcom do so as well. But the fact that AoC could have been so much better is no reason to bitch and moan. If you'd rather do something else with your time than play the game, you are more than welcome.