Wait uh... Isn't Smash Bros Sakurai's game? Like, I thought it was his IP and everything. (I mean obviously it's Nintendo's since he works under them, but I hope you get what I'm saying.) Wanting Sakurai to leave is like wanting Miyamoto to never touch a Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, whathaveyou.
I do think that characters could all be different. I'm not saying that the idea of clones is perfect; I'd much rather everyone is completely unique. Although at the same time I'm completely fine with them... What I'm trying to say is: Don't mind if you do, don't mind if you don't.
Also now that you bring the point of character mix-ups, I'm really loving that (ESPECIALLY Bowser!). I mean having continuity is cool, making everyone roughly the same game after game... But that was before the roster was so big. Now that the roster is large enough, mixing up the way characters play seems cooler than just adding new people. I'm excited for the Villager because he's new, but I'm just as excited to try out new Pit, because on a gameplay standpoint... New moves and stuff is basically the same as a new character.