Haleivi: That is speculation which cannot be proven one way or the other. We know that the maggid made changes and considered them chiddushim.
Feif Un: The Gra issued his cherem after the Besh”t passed away, but the people he banned were still known as followers of the Besh”t.
147: What’s sephardi? Do you mean S&P, Aram Soba, Shami-Yemenite, or something else? And while we’re talking about autheniticty, why not abolish most of korbanos and b’rikh sh’mei as do the Frankfurt-yekkes (true ashkenaz)? What about suggesting that all of mizrachi Jewry follow the baladi rite? After all they are the closest things we have to the untouched originals of their respective traditions. The fact is minhagim change over time for various reasons, sometimes legitimate, other times less so.
Avhaben: Do you have a halachic argument? Or at least a point?