I keep my drones and controllers up to date, however, I wait for a while after each firmware update to make certain that there are no issues with new code. I do the same thing with my computer and other device updates, with the exception of critical security updates, which I apply immediately.
Well this is, at least in part, also within my line of reasoning for NOT necessarily staying the most "up to date"... Updates, while they CAN "fix" things, can also BREAK things. So whether you're "off grid" and don't update so frequently from lack of connectivity, or you're just purposely waiting to make sure it's "safe", you're doing so at the expense of someone else! Also, having an I.T. background, I know for a fact that not every update has "something to do with 'safety'"! MOST of the time, you'll notice an update is to change or add a certain functionality. One such example would be "follow me". I know the Autel EVO NANO+ actually shipped withOUT that feature, though it is/was supposed to be a feature! How will that be added? Of course, an UPDATE (whether just their "fly" app, and/or "firmware"). So, lets say you do NOT get said update (which may or may not contain other aspects within the update), does NOT necessarily mean you're "not flying safe"; you're merely missing out on "feature changes"!
So, yeah, even if I did have readily available connectivity (which one day I will via Starlink), I STILL would NOT update "right away"! I'm not "your" "beta tester"; and I am NOT going to be the one that crashes his drone or has a flyaway or whatever, because something in the update actually BROKE something instead of fixing it! Basically ~ "if it ain't broke, DON'T fix it" should hold true.
Now on the other hand, if I knew an update was SPECIFICALLY to straighten out a safety issue (or more than one), then yes, it would be negligent to NOT get it! But, if it's what they (updates) normally are (the SMALL "tweaks" I just described) then there is NO reason to "HAVE" to get it! IMHO