I think this would be a good idea as well. Maybe release them on the store as some sort of "premium emote" that costs way more than the regular ones, but I don't really see the issue with making them more available to everyone. The same goes for other items like minions that were bound to specifically limited physical items.

If you already have the emotes or minions then, well, that's already your bonus. You got a statue/book/etc. with the emote/minion/etc. and you've already had the access to them for years.