To be fair to Tharg, there’s a world of difference between a key creator, alongside Ezquerra’s family, saying “actually, they should continue this” versus continuing a strip created by two people who want nothing further to do with 2000 AD, and who would be against such a thing happening.
I think Matt Smith has acted honourably and respectfully on this issue. Ultimately, he could have said “well, Strontium Dog is very popular, and so we’re going to be doing new stories”, but he didn’t. Even now, the only new thing we’ve had has been a Regened semi-reboot episode, and the Stix story. Perhaps they were intended to test the water; I dunno. But it’s an unenviable position to be in, because whatever choice is made, it’ll annoy some people.