I guess it was just something that they were able to implement more or less easily compared to getting the combat right. The patch also brought decorations and jewelry.
For me, combat is the most important thing, too. But that doesnt mean they cant patch other stuff too.
I agree that it seems a bit silly to spend development time on "emotes" in Alpha, but as i said i dont think that ate too much development time. I guess its more like something they had almost ready and wanted to get it out of the way. Then again, what do i know
Hope the combat/pvp turns out good after all and i hope to see something about the actual MMO this year. At least all those things like emotes, decorations and jewelry will carry over i guess
Edit: bzw, why is this in off-topic?