I'm thinking the AC/DC model would suit GNR.

They're using the Stones model. Yes the Stones used to be a recording entity but after 2002, they realized they were so big that they didn't need an album to tour. The Stones name and legend was enough to sell out stadiums.

Yes they are an anomaly....but it can be done.

In the span of 18 years, only new Stones music was Doom and Gloom and a blues cover album no one bought or listened to even though it was more than likely their last album.

I remember in 2016 being so naive to the point of believing that they would go the Soundgarden route.

It was wishful thinking. The Soundgarden reunion wasn't about money....and the trajectory it took showed what it was about.