People here have to understand that the Governing Body does not care about stumbling the Brotherhood. The rank-and-file are already their captives. No ... all they care about is recruiting new members and the operating capital they bring. As a result they will ultimately do anything, overturn any long held belief or tradition, just to grow numerically. It is true that they might not like doing it (in fact it may even cause divisions within the Governing Body itself), but as things become more desperate, you can be sure that extraordinary things will happen.
Thus the disfellowshiping regulations, the higher education ban, political neutrality, birthday celebrations, and core time-based doctrines, will all be seen as negotiable items at some point ... as survival is the strongest motivator of change.
We have to remember that ... even an animal will chew off one of its own legs, to get out of a trap. Will the Governing Body be any different? I think not.