I have yet to install Skyrim (waiting for my new PC), and wondered if the patches do more damage than they are worth. For instance, from what I have read, patch 1.2 forces Steam to be active (and an always-on internet connection) to play a stand-alone game. Is this true? Without the patch, is this still the case? I'd rather not infest my machine with Steam, even though I hear people swear by it. It seems intrusive and draconian to me.

Also, people are saying (writing) that the patches have done little to fix the game (quest bugs, etc), and that modders are doing a better job of fixing things. Is this a fair observation?