The scissors may well be a fixture of future versions.
The counter freezing is a bug in some releases, and has been fixed in the next one.
There's no mandate to update. If the version you have is doing well stick with it. The latest can always be test driven in your spare time.
For one-time licensed users upgrades are free for up to six months from purchase date. After that, VP will continue to fully function but a fee is required in order to register the newest. Retain your old install file and registration info. If there's an issue, you can always revert.