You are really asking three questions, I'll try to answer them from my perspective, and I am sure others can add more.

Current reviews important? Yes. In my experience I become leery of a provider who has a number of reviews for a time period, then there hasn't been any reviews for a few years. It makes me wonder things like: Is she for real? Is this a scam? Has someone else taken over her pictures and phone number now? Are the pictures from today or from several years old?  

Services consistent, still active? Current reviews help to confirm this, yes. And if she has been out of it for a while, she may have made decisions to provide different things or eliminate different things that she offers to do with the gentlemen.  

To address your third question, if all things are equal between two options to choose from (distance from me, timing, relative cost, what she will perform, etc) then it is true that I would likely contact the one with more reviews.  

In summary, reviews are like pieces in a puzzle, so putting more reviews together creates a fuller picture of the kind of person and session that will be had.  I just posted on the newbie board my answer to a related question from someone else the link is listed below if you wish to read more

This topic has been discussed ad in finitum.  Reviews are subjective.  But overall, I believe the total picture of all a provider's reviews give a general idea of what most hobbyists have experienced with her.

While rarely stated, EVERYTHING is YMMV and have heard horror stories on occasion, about hobbyists being dissatisfied with one service or another (DFK/BBBJ) they were not offered.  When that is contrary to the preponderance of other hobbyists' experiences.  I believe it is obvious that reviewer was the problem.

I also check the hobbyist's reviews when I research a provider.  His pattern can tell me a lot about his opinion.

There is also the opposite extreme.  Have seen providers who have all 9's and 10's and on occasion, have wondered how that could have happened.

Of course this is only one person's opinion

Most, if not all, my trysts start with my finding a lady on P411. Based on what I find there, I either move on or continue.  

The next thing I'll check is her website for more photos, and to get a sense of who she is. Based on that, again, I'll move on or continue.  

The next thing I check is TER and I'm looking to see first and foremost if her pictures are accurate and recent. To determine this, I'll look at the average appearance score and the range. This is more important for those ladies who blur their faces. I'll skim the most recent reviews looking specifically for some indication from the guy who saw her last that the photos were accurate and recent. I'll also skim her reviews for reviewers who I've determined I can trust their judgement based on seeing some of the same gals they did. While I'm doing this, I'm also looking for a couple of things in the performance arena that are important to me. This probably took me longer to write than the time It takes to actually do it since I've become adapt at determining a good match pretty fast.  

So, it all comes into play, the number of reviews, how recent they are, what are the scores and any trend, but none of it is a deal breaker in and of itself. I've been known to see ladies without reviews, with only one review by a veteran reviewer, lots of reviews but no recent ones, or lots of reviews that are recent. The more you play, the more adept you become at identifying who you believe will rock your world the way you like. I am rarely disappointed and I like to think neither are they.  

Solo mis dos centavos...😎

... I'll be concerned, but not enough to cross her off of my list. The review content itself is of little value to me. I'd be more concerned that she quit the biz but left her profile up. I will then check her P411 acct to see if she has recently checked in. That way at least I'll know that she's still in the game. From there I'll reach out to her if she meets all of my criteria for a date.

I believe at least one or two current reviews are necessary if the previous ones are more than say a year old. Ladies can change physically and performance wise, so I prefer to see some current ones.

I've seen a number of escorts who haven't been reviewed in a year or more. I usually ask a couple of none  Sexual questions a if the answers are what I want to hear, I'll go ahead and book the session.  

The number of reviews a provider has to have for me to consider her established, would be one review, if it's written by a veteran.  
 

she spend time stroking my dolphin.  8o)

But seriously....

Yes, I'd like to see at least a half a dozen reviews with at least one in the last year, and consistency in the offerings is a plus, as well as an indication that she is active

There are several things that I look for on TER before I make an appointment with a provider.

1.  A decent sized sample of reviews.  If a provider only has a few reviews I'm not going to take one for the team.  

2.  Consistently good reviews.  For me, this applies to the number scores and also for the written account.  I actually get more out of the written part of the review than the numbers but the numbers do show, in a rather quick fashion, the relative consistency of the provider.  If the numbers are all over the place I'll move on.  If the numbers, and especially the most recent ones, are 8s, 9s & 10s then I'm definitely interested and will read the written part of the reviews.

3.  As far as looks go, sure I look at the number score on the review but I also look to see if she has posted pics on the regional ad board and on the photos only board.  I do this because it is more than likely that these are the most recent pics the provider has and are a true representation of her appearance.  I really only hobby in Las Vegas and fortunately there are a lot of providers that post pics on both of those boards.

After a while I get a good feel for who is actively posting pics on TER and that is what usually generates interest in a particular provider for me.  From there I look at the reviews and read the most recent ones.  To the question that the OP asked about current reviews I guess it all depends on what current means.  A three or four month gap doesn't really raise any flags, but more than a year would cause me some concern.

4.  This doesn't have to do with reviews but I have yet to schedule an appointment with a provider who is not on P411.  TER and P411 work in tandem very well and they are well worth paying for, IMHO. (I'm not bashing non-P411ers)

Anyway, that's my process.  The providers I've seen have all been well reviewed providers who don't play any games with the way they advertise their appearance or services and I truly believe using information from the reviews (quality, frequency & consistency) is the number one reason for all the great sessions I've had.  

I realize I went a little beyond the scope of the OP's post but thought that what has worked well for me might be of use to someone else.

Cheers

provider. This could mean a review in the last 6 or 8 months. In my case as a hobbyist, I have only written two reviews in 2016 because I have mainly seen repeat ladies.

Consistency in reviews is important. A good benchmark would be 9 out of 10 with similar a skill set.

The arbitrary number of reviews to be established varies by hobbyist. Some say at least 6, others say 10. I can live with 5 or 6 over a similar time period (months). Five reviews all in one month just doesn't cut it for me.