On topic in a sense...
I do have to say, I think it's quite foolish to wait this long, from a martketing perspective.
Hype is what made Skyrim sell so well, and the way they're handling Dawnguard, they're letting the hype die down. Ironically at the same time, I constantly get Youtube ads for Dawnguard, advertising it nonstop. That's great and all, but I can't get it. And when it's out this long without ANY word on the release, then....yeah, I just stop caring.

On the other hand I guess this is, in some ways, nicer than constantly being told "soon!" so that people are waiting anxiously on the edge of their seat. Ironically I'd say this way is more considerate, cause it seems they're being more honest with this release than they've been with previous releases, but now I guess I sorta see why some of the "soon!" statements might've been intentional, just to keep the hype aflame.
Overall though I think I prefer it this way, since it's pure honesty. It's also quite conceivable that the Dawnguard release will take long, as they found more than enough bugs to cause issues.