I agree with the OP as well. I stopped playing for a long time because I couldn’t keep up with the updates to the Living Story.
A system like what we saw for War in Kryta in GW1 would be perfect for my playstyle – that is, new content goes in, but is shown based on phasing, depending on where you are in the storyline. This would be difficult in GW2 for anything outdoor, since it is not an instanced game, but even something like a reflecting pool that allows you to look back on past events, similar to the one in the original Hall of Monuments would be a good way to allow you to at least play the instances that have been taken out.
Bottom line for me: this game would be perfect if I could digest the new story content at my own pace.
Just want to thank the OP for intelligently voicing something that was bugging me as well. I don’t like to miss story chapters, and I am part of this game’s community. I don’t think anyone is saying “design the game around MY problems” but rather “this is what I don’t like.”