Another reason I like small updates is that I believe it lowers the chance of burnout. It does no good for a game or it's fans to have one or two large updates and then the developer closes up shop because they can't handle the strain anymore. Even with being a member of this board for a mere 18 months, I've seen it happen already a good half dozen times with single developer games.
This update was around 228 megs, which I consider a fair enough price for $3. As to the other patreons, it's up to them if they do the same or consider total income as their yard stick with update content. I doubt most game developers on this site make enough money to go full time. But if they did, I might reconsider my backing but likely I won't. Main reason you ask, it because I'm a patreon ($5) to a fanfic writer that does it full time. He writes a story I love, but he also writes in two other fictional universes I don't care about (GoT and Percy Jackson). So I have to wait months sometimes before he gets back around, so one could argue that I'm wasting my money in these dry months. Yet for me, it's putting food on his table till its my beloved story's turn.
Do the same with some actors, go see all their movies even if they're garbage because it helps their career.