I think one of the main problems is the restrictive nature of trance as a genre by default.
If you push too far in a certain direction, it ceases to be trance anymore (by a genre definition at least)
I'm actually working on a 3 track progressive trance EP, in which which I have tried to push each track in a different direction whilst keeping that trance vibe.
Funnily enough, the first track I completed (Into The Sky) was intended to be a big cinematic sounding progressive trance moment. I'm really happy with how it sounds, but ultimately it sounds like an AnjunaDeep melodic house track rather than some original, genre breaking tune
And that's the point. Trance is so heavily borrowed from and the state of genre labelling is such a mess that as soon as you try to deviate, it ends up as something else - Melodic House, Melodic Breaks, Melodic Techno etc.
There's also the whole trance META; something that affects every genre. As soon as someone does something unique and becomes popular, the analytics catch it, the marketing and A&R push it and you'll be sick of it in a year.
The sledgehammer kick that has infected the 138 side of trance is just part of the issue. There's certainly a place for it within your set. DuMonde built a career out it in the early 2000's and it was great to spin one of their tunes to add a huge energy moment in your set, but when every track sounds like that it seriously tires your ears out.
Personally I do like reading these threads as a producer myself (albeit a bedroom one) as I do like pushing my music into different areas and they do give me inspiration. The EP I am working on is actually inspired by reading some of the 'negative' threads on here and trying to extract the essence of what people like to hear. But ultimately I am not the person to change the genre, I'm 40 next year and just want to vibe with some home made tunes

, you'll need a new younger crowd to change the trance world!
****On a side note, if you are interested in that tune from my forthcoming EP, my good mate and DJ 'Bob' played out a demo version in his Progressions series here:
It's the last track and starts at around 1 hour 58 