Need to GW2 have kept more classic mmo mechanics?

There is plenty that is good about GW2 though I just located it overwhelmingly tedious. There are many reasons for this that I won't go into, but principally I never felt any sense of immersion. I put this down to the following: - 

one) Lack of Quest Hubs: In lots of sections the mechanics just felt over simplistic. The hearts plus the events were just a step too far in removing the player from any meaningful interaction with the game. You just role up and fill the bar, then move on. You do not need to speak to anyone or interact in anyway, you do not even meet the same people since you can just float around the tetris map aimlessly with no rhyme or reason. Even studying skills & combat were just too rapid and simple; and simple= dull. 

2) Lack of Defined Roles: Other parts of the game mechanics were too convoluted, such as the group setup, which necessary you to set the roles plus the tactics and to communicate these with your team. Excellent in case you have a regular group, however given that the rest of the game is so desperately casual this appears to be an odd anomaly, & outcomes in the complete mess that are dungeons amongst more casual or uninitiated players or PUG groups. 

Furthermore, given that all characters in essence do the same factor there is never that sense of being needed in a group, you're just a replaceable part. Also, the fact your abilities are largely chosen for you juxtaposes awkwardly against the apparent freedom from defined roles. 
Given the above, does anyone else feel that GW2 would have already been a better game if it had retained more defined roles & more classic quest hubs? 

All the above is IMO so can we please stay away from the usual pointless argument about this. 

I'll need to offer an emphatic "Hell no!" with regards to the thread title. The "time-honored MMO" mechanics are what make the other MMOs like, well, the other MMOs. By taking what they have taken and discarding what they have discarded they have developed a exclusive MMO in a sea of clones and I'm glad for it. If the day ever comes that I miss "traditional" factors, like the trinity, quest hubs, static worlds, dull rotation based combat, non-consentual PvP etc. there will always be a lot of MMOs to decide upon from to get that fix. Although what they've done they have done, in my opinion, exceptionally well & I'm enjoying the hell out of, so why would I need it to adjust? 

Couldn't disagree with you more on point #1. Quest Hubs & pointless talking without any real story progression and lore is just horrible. And the gratis exploration of an open world is greater then any corridor driven on rails mmo. So, on that point I hope that more MMOs learn from GW2 & do away with quest hubs. 

On point #2, well, I hate what GW2 did with the classes. A recent poll on a further widely accepted site overwhelmingly supported the holy trinity procedure over that of GW2 gold. I loved how Rift did the class system. You could be a tank & nonetheless switch to a roll for solo or PvP. That was perfect. 
Now, you discussed a lack of immersion, and I too felt this. SWTOR was not a fairly fantastic MMO, although it had the finest story lines in any game, ever. Guild Wars 2 story just plain sucks. Getting my personal story hijacked by a walking cabbage type of sucked too. 

Overall, they did a amazing employment with the game, and I think you'll find that they've transformed the MMO landscape forever - for the better.