I am using whatsapp since 2012 (or even earlier) if I remember correctly. I paid $2 a year for 5 years to use WhatsApp. The reason being I have friends and family all over the world including different parts of USA, canada, Dubai, Singapore, Australia, India, UK etc. Whatsapp was the best tool for communication. And as you suggest stories and statuses are a part of whatsapp, it's just a second thought at the best. Out of hundreds of my contacts, I can count people who post stories and statuses on one hand.
Those features are not standing in the way of user's migration to signal app as far as I can tell.
I've been using WhatsApp for a similar length of time, maybe since 2010 or so - I had no idea WhatsApp even had such features beyond messaging, file sharing and videos calls, and I've no idea what "stories" or "statuses" even are. All I want is those core features.
Those features are not standing in the way of user's migration to signal app as far as I can tell.