And if they didn't release the CK, would you still buy it? I certainly wouldn't. That's probably the only reason they even bother to give it to us, because they know if they didn't then they would lose the PC audience completely. But I have a feeling eventually they won't even give us that, probably TES VI, or they'll charge us for it.
No, I wouldn't buy it, not in it's current vanilla state that is. But the amount of people who mod the game is still a minority, as is the amount of people who won't buy a game if it isn't modable. Off course it's a premium for the marketing & sales department that they support fan made content. There's no sense in denying that. But it still makes no sense whats however stating that PC players get the shaft in this deal.
Please be more exact in why you believe PC players get the shaft here. I might even go along with you if you can represent a valid argument that has any weight to it. (Apart from poor optimization which seems to be an engine issue since it's evident on the consoles as well. And apart from the lack of DX11 (or whatever fx feature) support, which is moot imho because gameplay should imho always outweigh eye candy.) Most issues for PC players can and will be (or already are) fixed, mods ftw.
But I have a feeling eventually they won't even give us that, probably TES VI, or they'll charge us for it.
I strongly strongly disagree that Bethesda would consider ditching the CS for an upcoming game. Fan made content has been a key part of their policy since Morrowind.
Charging for it is a whole other matter. I'm 100% sure the cost of supporting the CS is already represented in the (total) revenues they expect to get from the game. Nothing is for free.