Most of the sanctioned mods haven’t been updated in a long time too. However, most of them still work fine (including Bot Improvements - Combat). I’ve been using that mod ever since it was a sanctioned mod.
Not sure what you mean by “completely dead”, but on Nov. 21 (yesterday), Fatshark_Calavera said (in the mod’s comment page): “We rolled out a fix this morning that should prevent the crashing. The sanctioned status has been restored. Thank you for your patience!” (The game was recently updated to make the Bot Improvements mod still compatible with it.)
Is this something you have tested multiple times to notice (by enabling and disabling the mod’s features before starting a map?) In July-October I did multiple tests (because of the many game updates in that period). I notice that every time I disable the mod’s features, the bots will not stay closer, will not optimally use their melee attacks (noticeable on the 1h hammer/mace - bots will use heavy attacks for hordes, instead of the more optimal light attacks) and will not ping elites. (Ergo, all 3 mod features work as per my tests.)
The bots’ propensity to chase after specials with melee weapons (and not shooting them with their ranged weapons) to the ends of the map are not affected by this mod’s ‘Stay Closer’ feature. They will leave the player(s), with or without this mod to attempt to melee specials.
On what weapons did you notice this? Note that with Bot Improvements - Combat, they will use heavy attacks on hordes if there is a target among the horde that will not be damaged by light attacks, even if the heavy attack is unoptimal for hordes (e.g., Executioner Sword).