I have a Warthog stick and went through the whole disassembly, sanding and regrease. My stick is smooth now but had clunky micro-movements around center before I did the whole procedure, making it difficult to AAR properly.
I can see why they want to move away from the old tech which is subpar for the price point. If I could sell my old base I could be tempted, but it would have to be able to be as rigid/resistant as the old Warthog base