I've kind of got to wonder if they used Endgame as a punishment for some of the actors:
Robert Beltran is an obvious one since he was continually mouthing off about the production to media outlets, and of course he had to make that stupid bet with Brannon Braga.
With Robert Picardo, I really can't figure out what issue there could have been, but they decided to dedicate so much time to the Doctor in season 7 only to make him look pathetic in the last batch of episodes.
For Jeri Ryan, I can only assume it's something personal with her partner at the time. Brannon Braga really wanted to kill Seven off in the finale, and had to be talked out of it by the rest of the creative staff. Then he tries to take away a lot of the things that made Seven unique in order to make her stereotypically girly and needy.
For Kate, I dunno, maybe for having too much integrity? Maybe for not caving in to the J/C thing (I mean I wish she had but I also understand her choice back them), so to turn Janeway into a very sad, very solitary figure at the end feels like a bit of a dig.
