The main thing they really need to change with regard to new player disadvantage should be the skill bonus based on account age but this has been debated to death. I think new players will be more concerned about their character's base disadvantage than some vet rewards. Of course new players might not even be aware of the skill disparity based on account age until its too late and I think more pvp based new players will be more likely to quit the game out right.....
Now back to the the vet reward discussion regard shard transfer shields. The shield token is really limited compare to a store bought transfer token and 1 transfer per month is yet another limit. The purpose of vet reward is a way to show appreciation for supporting the game. The amount of money needed to maintain an account for that long is significant. Is the ability to transfer really that much of a disadvantage? I have used my shield transfer token once so far since it got released.......
I personally think that transfer shield is a form of rebate for supporting the game for so long to be able to get a free transfer once a month. I do admit that it does offer a significant advantage if you are a shard trader that can fully benefit from the ability to relocate goods to gain the profit difference on items transferred. So I guess it ultimately comes down to if your UO end game is hording gold? Lets be honest, its is definitely about the amount of money you can save while converting item\gold to real cash (at least admit to it instead of repeated ranting of unfair)