I get what you are saying, but I feel that the latter, "intentional stretching" as you call it, is becoming somewhat of a trend.
I have cancelled so many supports to developers that just lost my trust in them.
I wish there was an option (for me, the supporter) to always be able to chose a tier that gave money when a real release happened, not every month or for some lazy ass wallpaper...
Well, I'm not supporting any developer at the moment, so I guess I lost the right to complain, other than in general terms.