All this is true, and is exactly the point the detractors are making.
At the surface, yeah, maybe. But I think there's something deeper at work with the detractors just not liking the direction of the new films at all. TFA is too close to ANH. TLJ is too far from being Star Wars.
My sense is that what the detractors
really want is something that is ultimately impossible to give them: a true sequel, featuring the OT heroes front and center as the heroes of the sequel trilogy, with maybe vague indications that they'll hand off the reins to another generation in another trilogy. Or two. In essence, these folks want sequels that would've had to have come in the late 1980s/early 1990s that
introduce a new generation of heroes, but which still makes it clear that the OT heroes are the ones saving the day. To the extent they want that done today, I think it's an impossibility and they're fooling themselves about what's realistically doable with these actors.
And I get that. Honestly, I do. Thanks to Lucas' burnout (and likely that of the series' leads to some degree), we missed out on what you'd have expected to see in the late 80s/early 90s, with another trilogy after the fall of the Empire, but where the OT heroes are still running the show. The closest we got was the Thrawn novels, and a bunch of other dreck after that, which are...well, hit or miss at best. (I like the Thrawn books, but I know not everyone does.) But ultimately, that's the itch I think they really want scratched.
Some might say "You could do that now!" I would argue, no, you really can't. Carrie Fisher, for example, was in no condition to be running around shooting guns and saving the day. Mark Hamill, awesome though he is, wasn't really going to be believable as an ass-kicking Luke Skywalker. Harrison Ford could've done it, but even so, the dude's getting long in the tooth, he's always had back issues, and I think they'd have had to cut and angle shots to make it look more action-y than it really would've been. We've seen this in other franchises, too. Go watch A View to A Kill. That's what I think a sequel that prioritizes the OT heroes would've been if it were shot now.
Some might say "That's not what we wanted! We're fine with new heroes, but we want the OT heroes respected and involved!" Again, I don't see that as realistic. The balance would never be "just right" for the level of involvement of the OT heroes. There'd never be exactly the right level of "respect" shown or focus on them to satisfy folks without it also hurting the flow of the film's narrative. This Ackbar thing is a perfect example. Ackbar deserved better? Why? He's not an important figure in any of the films. There's nothing intrinsic to the character that necessitates his involvement in the first place, but even if he's involved, what larger role ought he have played? What greater respect ought he have been shown? A big, dramatic death that features a dying soliloquy? That would've stopped the film dead in its tracks. Same story with a long funeral scene and a big eulogy for him. Should he have been swapped in for Holdo? I don't think that works because it wouldn't make sense for Poe to disobey a guy EVERYONE would know and respect as an OT hero (at least, if you buy the notion of the importance of the character because of his role in the Rebellion). There's just no good balance for including him, really.
But then if you fail to include him, it's all "Oh, why didn't they include XYZ character? They should've brought them back! The actor was even willing to do it! No respect for the OT, I tell ya..."
When TFA was announced and stated to be involving all the OT folks, I was....well, I was pretty sure exactly what's happening would happen. It was always gonna be really, really hard to strike a balance between satisfying OT fans and including the OT characters on the one hand, and shifting towards the future and the new characters on the other. I think they've done an...eh...ok job, but I think it would've been better to set the story much farther in the future. Alas, here we are.