Never player without the patch, it got installed at the first bootup
PAL PS3 40GB
Internet Connection inactivated in XMB
no DLC
3 playtimes a 3 hours each.
* No freezes, not a single one
* Fan never kicks up speed
* Small 1/2 second halts from time to time when exploring, tolerable
* Also have a companion with me, (ED-E)
* Haven't seen any bug so far
* Sometimes ED-E get stuck in the environment so I need to change my location for her to unstuck
(AI path problem, but same in many many games)
Also played Fallout 3 regular version with no DLC. Never a freeze there either.
My 2 cents.
Games is wonderful and exploring is pretty wicked. Always something new to see.