» Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:17 am
It sounds like you're asking us a very existential question. The answer, of course, has to be: Do whatever you think will make you feel satisfied with what you've done.
If you want my personal answer, I'd say buy it, and don't worry too much about whether you'll do "enough" research. There are a lot of posted lists of good mods for various categories. Pick what you want most and start playing. When you want more, go look for more.
'Course, I've held off from modding my game for over 120 hours of gameplay at this point, just making lists and downloading things in my spare time, checking compatibilities and learning about the various modding tools. Which is apparently exactly what you want to avoid. So, y'know, your call.