If Bethesda didn't advertise bug fixes in their promotion you can bet there will be no bug fixes in Skyrim Remastered. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I expect the remaster to contain exactly what Bethesda told us it will contain. No more, no less.

I always figured it'd be the same as the Legendary Edition, but only with mod support. Maybe there will be an unofficial patch mod?

I am not expecting any bug fixes. I am expecting more bugs. Some bugs might be fixed due to being on a new engine but those are likely replaced with more bugs.

The chance of bug fixes being included in Skyrim Remastered is so small you would need a high-powered electron microscope to see it. However, Jupiter Knight brings up a good point about mods. The unofficial patches have never required third-party utilities so you can fix nearly all bugs that way.

The one exception is the lip sync bug. The "Fix Lip Sync" mod requires the script extender. So it's likely that consoles will still have that bug.

For consoles we do not know yet, maybe Arthmoor or someone from the team can answer. I have a feeling they might not know until the enhanced version is released and seeing if there are any fixes compared to the current version. They might want to start the project from scratch for the enhanced edition.

As for the current Unofficial Patches for Skyrim it is best to use the legendary one if you have all the DLC's. I suggest to start a new game with the unofficial patch since the patch might not be able to fix any issues that occurred before the patch was installed.

I know the feeling. In the beginning mods can be pretty confusing. There is a learning curve. I went through it myself. But don't let that discourage you. Once you get the hang of using mods, they open up a whole new world of gaming. Mods put you in change of your own personal gaming experience. To me, that is really exhilarating.

The unofficial patch teams (for all the games) put an insane amount of time and effort into trying to intuit Bethesda's intentions. They are focus on changing only those things that are obvious mistakes and oversights...and nothing else. I consider the unofficial patches to be almost a legitimate extension of the vanilla games.

Anyway, don't let the confusion you're feeling now deter you from using the unofficial patches. When the time comes, there are a lot of friendly people over in the Skyrim Mods forum who will gladly help you with any problems you might have.

Overall the unofficial patch is good, and I would not say there are "downsides or risks" but there are some things you should be aware.

The unofficial patch is a mod, and like any other mod, it has potential compatibility issues with other mods. For example, some mods, like JK Skyrim won't work if you use the latest version of the unofficial patch because of an incompatibility with a particular navmesh edit in Windhelm (you get a CTD every time you enter Windhelm). JK Lite will work since it does not contain the navmesh edit and JK Skyrim works fine with prior versions of USLEEP (anything prior to version 305 will work, but you cannot download old versions of the unofficial patch because the unofficial patch team does not allow that).

Also, some of the things "fixed" by the unofficial patch may be perhaps debatable as to whether they are really bugs, or at least not everyone agrees they should be fixed or that the way the unofficial patch fixes them is the best way to do it. Things like the Necromage perk applying to player vampires and fixing black soul gems and the black star so they no longer absorb white souls. There are other mods that overwrite some of these changes, so you can use the unofficial patch and still have your necrovamp, with http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/76019/? that prevents Necromage from erroneously applying to potions, enchantments, shouts, blessings, standing stones, and perks, but still allows any self-cast spells to get boosted if you are undead. I believe this to be the original intent of the perk, but the unofficial patch prevents Necromage from applying to any and all self-cast spells even if the player is undead, which nerfs the awesome Necromage as a Vampire synergy entirely.

I am thinking of releasing a mod that restores full functionality to black soul gems and the black star. While it is true that Nelacar says in dialog that the black star can no longer absorb white souls, black soul gems have always been able to absorb white souls ever since they were first introduced in Oblivion. I have restored the black star/black soul gems in my own game and am thinking of releasing this mod to the public.

But the unofficial patch fixes so many problems in the game, that you cannot really afford to live without them and most people consider them essential. Many of the most popular mods require them, since some of the fixes cannot be passed through without making the unofficial patch a master.

The unofficial patch did fix a lot of things that where features in my personal opinion, so I've de-installed it.

So for the protocol: Not everybody is happy with the unofficial patch!