that's a very sweet thing to say, Mellotroniac. (we are of the same age!)
But you know, I have the idea the fans back then weren't like "What the Beatles will do next?" becuase they produced albums at a very quick rate. Or perhaps it was, I don't know. But I mean these days , you gotta wait ages for your favourite band to produce their next CD.
True, you say that our beloved guides disappeared, but that's the thing about the Beatles music (and any good music, come to that) is that it is timeless. So they will always guide you. But when the Beatles broke up, you still had them doing music individually so the "Beatles" still stayed. So I would use the word "dissolve" rather than "disappear"
It's amazing what you can come up with while listening to the Beatles