1. Multi-region deployment only work if your database is globally distributed too. However, making your database globally distributed creates a set of new problems, most of which take time away from your core business.
2. File persistence is fine but not typically necessary. S3 works just fine.
It's easy to forget that most companies are a handful of people or just solo devs. At the same time, most money comes from the enterprise, so products that reach sufficient traction tend to shift their focus to serving the needs of these larger clients.
I'm really glad Heroku froze when it did. Markets always demand growth at all costs, and I find it incredibly refreshing that Heroku ended up staying in its lane. IMO it was and remains the best PaaS for indie devs and small teams.