You can't blame "owner negligence" for something you really can't (not easily, anyway), and shouldn't, take care of. Nowhere on the owner's manual, maintenance charts or even the shop manual is an EAS compressor preventative maintenance / drier replacement schedule ever mentioned. 99.9% of owners don't even know where the compressor is, let alone where they can get a drier for it. Even dealers just toss them in the trash when they fail, it is supposed to be a maintenance-free component. While a little cottage industry of replacement air driers and desiccant pellets has developed among DIY owners over the years for the Hitachis, it is mostly because they fail so often, and are so friggin' expensive to replace when they do. For me it was a crapshoot... I had 2 failures within the first 2 years of ownership on my 2006 Sport, while the 3rd unit, also a Hitachi, lasted me over 5 years and 150K miles with no issues and no need for a new air drier. I live in Southern California so I am sure that my dry and temperate climate helps. But they first two units probably didn't fail because of a worn drier - and I didn't care anyway since warranty paid for them both.
The AMKs will crap out eventually I am sure, they are mechanical parts after all, but they don't seem to be anywhere near as prone to failure as the Hitachis were, especially early on. Any LR tech will tell you the AMK is a much better unit overall, so if you can get one - and the warranty pays for it! - you should be real happy about it. The design of the bracket alone inspires more confidence.
Maybe you right, maybe I should not blame it all on the owners negligence , but so called , by you , cottage industry with parts and desiccant did not emerged until only in recent years.Long before , there was and still is , although a little smaller now,a Genuine LR maintenance kit with all the parts you needed to prolong life of your compressor,in fact , it was used by Lr technicians countless times in the first years, to prevent failures , later scratched by some, as an idea of fixing it instead of replacing it as whole , was somehow more profitable and less labor intensive.It was a well documented TSB though.
Problem with EAS compressors is well documented and spoken off , on variety of platforms, forums and such for many , many years.
When I approached a parts desk first time with a Part Number of the Service Kit for a compressor, they was not even aware of it , some dealers did some not, mine did not at that time.Over the years I purchased two dryers and two service kits with various O rings, screws and springs and it served me well. Like I said earlier, my first generation Hitachi lasted me 10 .5 years with on and off road use.
I would probably use it still, but the stupid con rod, that serves as piston inside an air chamber , broke in half and it is not available as service part.