I don't know of any other game that has tried to totally switch/update their game engine after release. Most games are developed for one engine. That is partially why some people feel that other games 'look' better.
Personally, I don't play the game soley for the graphics, I play it more for the content. I've played other games that may have been more visually appealing, but quite a few of them have been very shallow. As if their developers held visuals higher than game-play/content.
I use the EC for a couple reasons. First is that both my Laptop and PC run it faster than they run the LC, and apparently I don't have the issues with the graphics that others seem to have. Second, the EC offers me so much more for my game play style via macros(I never liked the though of needing UOA), item count tracking, navigation, casting, stackable item usage, item property accumulation, ect...
Now, I'm all for fixing up the bugs, visual or otherwise, because that is really the most efficient way to move forward, in my opinion.