I think it would be very helpful if we could say per article which version of a template should be transcluded.
I do not know how that could be done in wiki syntax best. Just as a (possibly bad) example:
For example inside the article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush the text:
<use oldid=33403194>Template:Infobox President</use>
could specify that version http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Infobox_President&old...
of the template should be used on that article (instead of the newest one).
Just and idea. I think that would help stop the shooting of prominent articles via templates.