Exactly. At no point in the film did it feel like pure fan service. It was as important to the story and to the Trek mythology as anything else in the film. It's really my favorite aspect of the film because it's so rare to find a movie that can pull that off.
Speaking of fan service, at some points in the movie I wasn't sure if it was fan service or simply unoriginal script recycling. Most of the time the characters were only reciting lines and actions from previous episodes and movies.
I have to say I cringed with every "I have been, and always shall be your friend", "I'm giving you all she's got", "Are you out of your Vulcan mind". They even let Spock say his (or actually Sherlock's) "When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truth" line. And the whole stuff about Spock "feeling fine".
Way too much fan service in my opinion.
So yeah, I would have preferred a straight reboot. One that makes Chekov a woman, Spock and alien with three eyes, that sort of thing, BSG style reboot.
I think you could claim some of those as fan service, yes, but I don't think Nimoy's place in the film or his performance were fan service in the least (anyone else getting Evangelion flashbacks every time they use that term).