Its just a dream scenario. I get that the team is small.
Why wouldn't anyone want a graphical update? How a game looks may not be important to you but it is what a lot of folks are drawn to. You mentioned WoW. Although I talked about it, i didn't play it. Why? Because I hated the art style of the game. Didn't matter that it is probably the most played mmorpg of all time.
I played CoH from when it launched. I am glad to see it back and want it to flourish. Maybe even to the point where they can hire more people to do other things in the game to update it. Right now, it is running as a labor of love. I am sure the devs, as passionate about this as they are, would love to see this grow and not just be a place for old players to relive. Eventually, they will move on just like most folks do from a game. Getting new players into the ecosystem benefits everyone.