Well true, the terminology is a point of confusion.
At this point, ARs were mostly "(cousin) races that were not distinct enough, or for other reasons not considered an option for 'main races', and unlocked through gameplay ways of befriending them, with a release not tied to expansions ".
That's why I mentioned an overhaul, parts of that system could be reworked, rephrased, renamed.
Possibilities:
- unlocking customizations, even subraces, through questing (NE dark eyes were a prototype of that)
- neutral races added with patches, not expansions, after meeting & befriending them in the previous patch, with or without gameplay to unlock them (although having them start at 10 like AR would avoid having to explain them in Exile's Reach, and due to that, at least doing their related story quests should be a requirement - I admit if taken that far, that's essentially like Allied Races, but with another name)
- wild idea: community goals to unlock new races early, participating in certain activities shaves off time until the (eventual) release - although I can already see how this would go over with the modern playerbase, who wants all datamined content as soon as the patch goes live.