Nobody is immune to various manifestations of status quo bias. Any change is likely to create controversies. The reaction is about as strong as I had expected before I knew what changes would be implemented. So, perhaps you made a mistake in underestimating the strength of criticism, but that is not much relevant to the quality of changes itself. Even if the changes were optimal (relative to the users' preferences), the reactions would not be much different.

That you are listening to the reactions is something which could be rationally assumed, and again, I don't think you were obliged to say that explicitly.

If anything, to ward off the status quo bias, I would suggest to wait two months and then survey the opinions and eventually make further adjustments. Two or three days of testing are hardly sufficient to determine the quality of the new design. Besides, letting people voice their opinions early on can trigger another bias.

Anyway, the new design is better than the old one and you have our gratitude. Or at least mine.