Taric is getting what Riot calls a "Sion-level update", which means he'll be getting as many changes as Sion did when he was re-released: New lore, abilities, interactions, etc. I can understand your concern since you've played Taric so much, so I'm coming to you with some advice.
Taric is fairly old. He hasn't received significant changes since his release, aside from various tweaks over the years, and it's fair to say that he isn't on-par with other champions. Riot wants every champion in League of Legends to be unique, for them to be noticed a mile away for something that only that champion can do. It's safe to say that Taric won't be the same guy he is now when everything's said and done, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.
Sion had no distinct gameplay pattern before he was reworked, and he didn't have a unique niche in the game either. His abilities were altered to more accurately represent the champion they wanted Sion to be, rather than making changes to him based on how he was currently played and ways of making that more systematic. And while Taric is much more functional as he is now than Sion was then, I can respect Riot's decision to go all out on his re-release.
With all of that being said, however, I've never actually played Taric for more than a few games, so I can't have the kind of attachment to him that you have. I understand you don't want him to be changed for the worse, however, and I don't believe Riot wants that either. What I'd really like to know, however, is what elements of Taric you think makes him who he is.
You said in your original post that Taric was an "aura master", and I can kinda see that from what I know of his gameplay. But knowing that he's as old as his is, are there any elements about him that you actually think you'd like changed? Or anything in his current design (abilities, lore, character model) that you'd specifically like to see improved? I'm personally expecting him to come out of the rework with all the elements his devoted players (like yourself) already see in his gameplay, but maybe a little tweaked or a little improved.
Regardless of all of that, however, I'm in your boat in hoping he still reads as "Taric" when everything is said and done. I know it means a lot to you, and I'm really hoping we get a wonderful new support at the end of it.
