It would have been 3 years ago or so at least for the game.
Ok, yeah. There has been a big overhaul since then. They upgraded to UE5 from UE4 (carefully, so performance wasn't lost, and some people gained performance). There's a new global illumination system (not Lumen) that makes things look significantly better. Vehicles physics were also totally redone, so they behave a lot better and more like you'd expect, rather than getting stuck on every rock or small barrier.
And my reasons are valid enough. The PR team threatened lawsuits against multiple modding communities back in the day. I have no reason to support people like that.
I don't know anything about that. Did they become a part of Offworld Industries when they formed the studio? The studio is very mod-friendly, so that doesn't sound like them. You can choose to support whoever you wish, but they're undoubtedly a better company than EA, so if you're still supporting them then I don't see how you could hold the same standards and be against OWI. If you give EA a pass, for whatever reason, then you don't really have standards. You don't have to support anyone, but at least try to have a consistent reason for it.