It's going to be pretty much impossible to get concrete data about charm from back in the day. I do think it's likely, however, that it used to break at least somewhat more commonly. I remember Enchanters in their high 40's getting a lot of breaks when trying to charm level 40 mobs (the original gate guards at cities).
Charm back in the day was definitely not used to the extent, and with the widespread ease, that it is now. Enchanters usually didn't permanently charm a pet back then. They would charm something to throw into another mob, let them beat on each other, and then the group (or themself solo with a DD spell) would finish off both mobs when they got low. It wasn't until Velious era that Enchanters were more commonly using Charm for reliably longer lasting pet, which could mean 2 other factors as well - a lot more Enchanters being high 50's/60 at that point, increasing the level gap of what a low blue con mob would be, and also how high their CHA was.
Either way, Charm as it's used now would have been nerfed back then, had the game evolved quickly enough for the devs to target the problem. The argument about Necromancers on Green being nerfed from what they actually were in classic is an extremely good argument for why Enchanters should also be nerfed.
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