More Alistar Nerfs, No Core Problems Addressed

So, since Alistar's rework in the days of yore, it has become some kind of perennial ritual to nerf some part of Alistar's kit or base stats. In almost every case, the problem is explained as "he has too much X for a champion with such good initiation with W>Q". Alistar's AP ratios have been cut in half, his ultimate DR and duration has been reduced, his heal has been nerfed repeatedly and is now a shadow of its former self, W and Q both got massive base damage reductions, hes lost a myriad of base stats, the ability to do a "parting shot" on headbutt for lane harass, and the ability to effectively heal allies outside of a long-term laning scenario, and even the shiny new passive he was given has been rendered all-but inconsequential. The one thing Alistar has never lost since the rework, however, is that precious W>Q combo. The same combo that made him broken immediately following its release, and the same combo that makes him so difficult to balance. And I get it, it's a difficult thing to balance around, because that combo took a defensive/heal tank and made him into a hard initiator. Prior to his rework Alistar was considered well balanced, and perhaps a little weak, as a high-healing, peeling, incredibly survivable hard-defensive tank. With each patch since then he's creeped closer and closer to being little more than a glorified stunbot.

So I guess my question is this: how much of Alistar's kit and stats are acceptable to sacrifice to preserve a combo that breaks entirely from the rest of his identity and role as a champion? Are we going to remove the defensive/peeling/healing identity of Alistar as a tank entirely, just to keep him able to dive enemies? What is it that makes this W>Q combo so sacred that a champion can be torn down around it? Why continue in this way and with these conflicting champion identity aspects when Ali could be reworked again into an offensive champ or the combo removed and his identity as a defensive counter-initiator restored without the present unbalancability?