It will go away if more like-minded people like the op and myself close their wallets. Did you know you actually don't have to open your mouth and say "ahhh" anytime a corporation wants to shove crap down your throat? You always have choices, remember that. Some of them are much tougher than others, but still. Mods or not, 3rd party verification is the reason I won't be buying the pc version of this game.
What a refreshing comment, and so true. I already stated this elsewhere in the unofficial steam discussion threads, it's exactly what I am doing as well. If it is mandatory to use steam, then no Skyrim for me. And gamesas won't get my money.
I also stated (and many others as well) that gamesas could have chosen to give us the option, buying it via steam or on disc, then those who love steam could go that way, and those who prefer not to use steam could do so as well. But there is more involved in that decision to exclusively using Steam.
For example - eliminating of 2nd hand market for example, which could be quite important now, as this game is obviously so buggy, I bet there would be many who might sell their Skyrim copy out of frustration, which is not possible anymore due to Steam.
Before Skyrim was out, it was a tough decision for me not planning to buy it, as a long-time fan of gamesass RPGs on PC (since Arena).
Now, after it has been released for some time, I am almost content not having bought or pre-ordered it. Of course I would love to play it one day, but giving up on my personal beliefs just because of a video game is a bad trade-off for me. The so massively hyped Skyrim is not like a religion to me. As Sky_Rune said, we all still have choices. I made mine.
And after having learned of the various bugs, problems (and many of them steam-related), crashes, and issues on the PC version of the game... there is almost no regret anymore that my choice was to not buy Skyrim. If they ever release a Non-Steam-Version, I will buy it, because I just love the Elder Scrolls Games and Universe. And if that ever happens, most game breaking bugs might be fixed (sometimes I am dreaming, yes...)
There will always be nice games running without DRM crap like steam, and if one day every game might require Steam or something similar, I will quit buying new games for PC and instead replaying some older loved titles, or focussing on different things in my life... yes, I have got a life beyond PC gaming.