I agree that E.T. is an essential ride just so Universal doesn't entirely wash its hands of any possible nostalgia that may woo people away from Disney. But it needs to keep up E.T. so it stops repulsing those who loved the ride as kids. I know because I'm one of them who loved E.T. at USH when I was growing up, and then when I went on it this past September, I was depressed by how poor it looked, and how much of its age that it's showing.
There's a great ride still there, waiting to captivate people. Universal just needs to put in the money and I think they got a ton of it. (I'm surprised they didn't refurb it for the 25th anniversary)