if the BU and other developers figured out a mechanism to "incentivize nodes"
in the same manner that Miners are incentivized to verify Bitcoin txs/blocks, then not only would they
provide one of the greatest services to the Bitcoin community, but also allow a more secured future for
forked upgrades, since the node system can grow and not diminish.
incentivising them is not easy or even advantageous..
all that will happen is 1-2 corporations running 20,000 nodes all running on AWS each, to grab the incentive.. then the 5000 oldtimers who are left with nothing, will feel that they are not being paid and (unknowingly) think the network is secure with 20,000 nodes.. so they would switch off.
leaving the network in the hands of 1-2 entities and the copies of the blockchain in a centralized single location (amazon service).
the problem with incentives is. rich guys pool their resources to get a leader advantage and claim a majority of incentives.
just take a look at the future industries that 'invested' in trump and now going to become the leaders of their industry with nice large government grants heading their way.
incentives do not mean better security.