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"OMG, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had cutie-marks! And Scootaloo... was an earth pony?!"
"THAT'S Rarity?!"
You know what... I don't think they're even the same characters. It should be obvious with Rarities, as the only thing they have in common is that they're blue-eyed unicorns. But Rainbow Dashes... Good lord. Why do you say that "Rainbow Dash changed" when it's obvious that they're different characters: G3 RD is an earth pony and G4 - pegasus, G3 RD is girly and G4 - tomboyish, 'nuff said. G4 Pinkie Pie is really hyperactive compared to the G3 one, to the point where some G3 appreciators can't stand her. I can't say much about Cheerilees, but... I think I like the G3 one better. (BTW there's another Cheerilee in G3, the unicorn, who appeared in pre-2008 cartoons).
I'd include G3 and G4 Spikes, but no one says that "Spike changed", no one seems to complain about them like with ponies...I think it's because G3 Spike didn't have an influence, G4 Spike was only based off G1 Spike.
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G3 Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle kinda are the same character.
The rest... I've always wondered why MLP was so different than Transformers on that score. In Transformers, the flavors change - Starscream will sometimes openly shoot Megatron in the back, sometimes scheme for ages and wait for the right moment, sometimes want Megatron's position because he really does care about the Decepticons while Megatron is a nutjob,but he's always the backstabber to the point that I've seen his name used as a verb more than once. Whether your 'Screamer came from G1, the Unicron Trilogy, Animated, Prime, any of a dozen comic series, or even the obscure Beast Wars II anime, you know what it means to "Starscream" someone. Optimus is sometimes the legendary hero and sometimes the newer leader who will be a legendary hero by the end. But always the leader of the good guys. Megatron is sometimes Dr. Evil, sometimes Darth Vader, but always main baddie (even if like Prime there is sometimes someone offscreen who outranks him.) Mirage got to be suspected of being a 'con spy in G1, RID 2001, and IDW, though "Spotlight: Mirage" was considerably trippier than "Traitor" and its RID remake "Mirage's Betrayal."
But with MLP, looking or acting anything like a past counterpart is a (ahem) rarity even as the same archetypes appear over and over and certain names never die. So, there's a daredevil in every series, but it's Firefly, Patch, Rarity, Rainbow Dash. The brainy one will be there, but it's Wind Whistler, Bright Eyes, Cheerilee, Twilight Sparkle. The well-meaning childlike one who can screw things up but will work to put it right: Fizzy, Clover, Minty, Derpy (excuse me, "Muffins.") And so forth. Applejack, Bowtie, Cotton Candy, and Moondancer have been in the same place at the same time in G1 and G3, but you'd never tell by looking. Even G1 has a unicorn Twilight and a pegasus Twilight, and even FIM has a female Cloudchaser and a male Cloud Chaser. "Let's bring back character X from a past series" is new to FIM and then it's usually secondary characters. The only Mane Six member that will remind you of her past self is Pinkie Pie.
Eh, you know all that. It's just strange that Hasbro's two foremost franchises have the opposite view on how to handle characters. Transformers are like actors, the the same person cast in different roles in each generation. The ponies are new characters with whatever name is still under trademark slapped on.