In Defense of Gaston, by Fodero
By the logic you put down as far as Gaston goes, I have a proposition as into how they could make any remake of Beauty & the Beast better.
Instead of portraying Belle's neglect in a 100% positive light, have the movie acknowledge Belle's mannerisms and how they are destructive to her own character. Heck, this could be an opportunity to add a brand new character: a friend who cares enough about her to call her out on her own shit because the town won't do so, but is kind enough with the town to be able to mingle with them, especially when said friend has had enough from time to time. If anything, during the part of the movie where they storm the Beast's castle, the friend could tell Belle that she's had enough of her thinking that her life is provincial when she hasn't done a damn thing to make the world less provincial. Heck, the said friend could even be one of her sisters from the original story.
Instead of making the Beast an ignorant brat, redesign his character to being a competent ruler, but thinks that no one would love him because of some quirk in his character design that's actually endearing. For example, since his parents aren't around, he's constantly into books on how to be a better ruler, even going as far as taking examples of bad rulers with a grain of salt. Thus, when interacting with him, he comes off as playing by some manual, but Belle encourages him to be himself in addition to what he's already learned, making him relaxed as a result and thus more genuine in his interactions and less "cause the book says so" kinda thing. This would play into the "spineless man" analogy that you were talking about earlier.
Finally, do the very thing you suggested: have Belle give Gaston the same chance, or at least imply that such a chance was given, but they didn't work out. However, instead of compromising with her like the Beast could do later, have himself think less of Belle instead of an equal. Give both Gaston and the Beast moxy, but the key differences being compromise and respect: two things that Belle knows that isn't in Gaston, but obvious in the Beast.
