As a genuine noob here, I have a little bit to add.
I did not directly see COH1, so I have little to compare this to. I'm loving the game: figuring out how it works, which units are good and bad at what, trying to figure out where I went wrong (or where my opponent went wrong) and trying to get the most mileage out of my units.
I am currently quite engrossed in the game, and see myself being so for quite a long time. Most of your complaints don't resonate with me, as I'm still learning the game mechanically and don't pine for the meta of yore as you do.
Your maps complaint I think is somewhat valid. There aren't a lot of maps, and several of the maps are just winter versions of other maps. But the game hasn't been out long, and Relic never releases tons of maps for their games (if DOW2 is any indication of this). that'll probably be the easiest change for them to implement, and they've already indicated that more maps are incoming.
I can't speak to commanders too much yet, I don't have enough games under my belt with each one. I do find some of their abilities forgettable, but this can be fixed either with balance, or shifting meta.
So, while 7 year veterans might have flagging interests, this stone cold noob is finding a lot to keep him occupied
