At the end eCs / os2 dies when you can't use it anymore and this depends on what you want to do.
This is the key. Somebody who needs 3D animation (for example) cannot use eCS, or OS/2.
we are dumping all our ECS 2.1 machines and replacing them with 6 in house built windows 8 machines.
My sympathies.

the years of no real improvements have made the subscription expense exceed what we would have spent on windows (sorry, accounting proved it)
Did accounting include all of the expenses to keep windows actually working? Probably not, but they will find a way to hide that since they missed it. I will also argue with you over "no real improvements". That depends on what you mean by "improvements". If you are talking about adding 3D video, you are probably right. If you are talking about supporting new hardware, and fixing a LOT of the basic problems (especially with SMP), you are wrong. Again, it depends on what you are trying to do.
OS/2 is good for hobbyists. otherwise OS/2 is indeed dead.
I will argue with that too. OS/2 is good for anybody who can find an adequate program to do what they want/need to do. There are very few things that actually require more than what OS/2 does, and some of the stuff that is coming down the pipe will shift that line toward the OS/2 side. Unfortunately, it is taking a long time to get it done, and it is obvious that some things will never get done, and that forces people to decide to go elsewhere. That is partly because of manpower limitations, but it is also partly because of people who seem to think that they don't need to support the project. Because of that, the funds available to do what needs to be done, are reduced, and that means that it takes longer to get things done. Of course, that is like a runaway snowball. As it takes longer to accomplish something more people bail out, and the faster it goes downhill.
I will acknowledge that Mensys has not done the best job of managing the project, but they seem to be learning as they go along. I will also acknowledge that there are a lot of people out there who do not even pretend to help, in any way.
The bottom line is, that eCS is only as dead as the users want it to be. So far, more users seem to want to keep it alive, than want to kill it, but it is getting closer to the edge, every day.