Neither WebAss, nor WebGL (nor the canvas API for that matter) is a vector graphics format. When using WebGL, you still need a way to integrate complex prepared graphic content. You could implement an SVG renderer in WebGL + JavaScript I guess, but that's certainly not easier than just using SVG content straight away.

SVG 2 leaves the "painter model" behind (where z-order is determined by document order of the respective shape within its container) in favour of the z-index CSS property, so that you can address it in CSS (eg. `:selected { z-index: 1 }`). This makes it possible to describe things like interactive maps and DVD-like menus where when you click on a shape, the shape gets scaled or applied some other transform for highlighting.

However, I agree that SVG 2 leaves a bit to be desired (for example, level of detail properties). Also, animation of SVG in FF sucks compared to Chrome and Safari, or at least it used to 3 years ago. I wanted to teach my 12-year old how to make a simple browser game, but had to resort to hackish workarounds to make it run smoothly on top of using rAF etc., ruining my pedagogical ambitions.