Definitely but only when done with purpose. removing outdated fluff and adding fresh, useful information can give content a second life. A simple date change won't fool google, sadly the algorithm isn't that easily impressed. Real improvements in depth, accuracy and user value are what move the needle.
sometimes i have seen stale content come alive from correcting intent mismatch, but increasing the words count was almost useless in itself
Yeah, I think it's worth trying. If a page is still getting some impressions, I update it first before removing it.