The whole racialization of the game is a big carryover from the fine traditions of roleplay games of the past. EVE is bleeding edge futurama, so if you really want to take so called 'sci-fi realism' (EVEisRealTM) to the grassroots, you have to admit that a lot of the choices given to us do not make sense, not just aesthetic ones. I do not need to point out the ridiculousness of the Aurum exchange rate to cast a doubt on the plausibility of NeX within the EVE world.
For example, one might want to change the skills system. What makes sense to me is that upon graduation different individuals would have different skills, but could very easily have the same personality 'traits' as individuals of other races or cultures (no elves or werewolves in space please). Then, given the advancements in neural mapping technologies available to capsuleers, it makes sense you could create/train/map whatever traits you want, if you can afford it and after you have trained your mind not to loose cohesion on remap (informorph).
Heck, with physical reconstruction technologies, you should be able to clone into a body double of any character you could get biometrics on. But the game is about what is fun, not necessarily plausible (unless fun for you is everything making sense together). So, as Katrina pointed out, it is not 'better' to have the old characters, but for some it may have been more enjoyable to associate with a caricatured avatar rather than a photo-realistic moving person.
So for me this discussion is about what is fun versus what could be imagined within a fictional world that generally follows a cohesive set of scientific and social principles. And here I am undecided, mostly because of the limitations of the game itself. I would like a bit of both, and if done well, I think a mix could make most people happy.
Our use of ships/weapons/implants in game is a great example of plausible freedom of choice, other game choices should reflect this. The only things I can justify CCP excluding from aesthetic options are the in-game identifiers that your choices have resulted in:
- option to 'display medals' on your character, and the style of the medals would be in the style of your chosen upper garment.
- option to 'display corp/alliance logos' on your character, as a tatoo or crest on a vest.