(3/2) - because the numbers are never enough.
Only merge non-breaking changes into a new testing release branch after creation, right up to the release - but the testing branch can also contain a lot more feature changes and such, including board ports.
A stable release branch would *only* have bug fixes and security fixes in it, no new boards or features; the latter goes in master and in the next testing/release cycle.
Many projects use this release model, and it'l what I'll use from now on.