Risa

I see what you mean, and I wish we could have had more Neelix, as I really do like him as a character, more than even Tuvix (why couldn't Janeway just transporter clone Tuvix and then disassemble one?). I just personally think it'd be having our cake and eating it too in order to both put his character arc at a conclusion or resting point, and get to see him with Voyager to the last moment.

Neelix was always a wanderer, and since his planet was assaulted and his people genocidally attacked to the point of a thin diaspora, he was really adrift. Kes's kindness and love (as weird as it is) cracked his shell enough for him to be able to try trusting Voyager when he first meets it. Voyager teaches him to open up. Kes leaving teaches him to let go. Learning to let go let's him process the tragedy of the loss of his family. Through the strength of self he's gained on Voyager, through learning to love and nurture Naomi Wildman and to serve as part of the crew, Neelix has become a whole person again, but not without scars. When he met a holdout group of Talaxians with no real leadership, he saw an echo of the family and culture he'd lost before Voyager. It wasn't that he felt Voyager no longer needed him, he was still very worried about that and as you said, they needed their chef, and morale officer. But those Talaxians would probably die without his help.

That's what Starfleet taught Neelix; that in order to save his new friends, he has to make them his family. In order to save his new family, he has to say goodbye to family one who helped heal him. The crew's reaction wasn't one of indifference to his departure. It was one of acceptance, and letting Neelix know it was okay to accept this new responsibility to his new family. That despite their love for him, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Or the one.

Well I love your combination of humor with deeper lore appreciation. It makes it fun for newbies like myself.