Ok some of my thought on Robots and the nerfs:

most of the time I don´t use logisticbots, because they are unreliable, unpredictable and not constant. I´m a dude who optimize my factory based on calculations of mass-in and mass-out, witch needs “constant” variables and logbots are not very constant things. I like belts and the only time I use logbots is to manage my lumber.
I build my factorys, like this, to the point I start the first or second rocked, as you sad there is no endgame.
Constructionbots are awesome! I build them as fast as I can get them. Building by the numbers is a boring task, the developer are aware of this fact so they nerfed the bots by putting the constructionbot hither up the tree (nearer to the start) and the logistcbot farther down.

Soren Johnson sad in his podcast Designer Notes (part 3 or 5 I don´t remember now) that the player will optimize the Fun out of the game. The Fun phase (for the most Players) is at the start of the game, when they haven´t figured out how to build a factory that can fulfill the “win condition”. Befor the “Nerf” this players raised to the logbot and never touched a belt again, this wasn´t fun at all, so they nerft them.
Wube Software knows about the power fantasy, but they have to build there game around the players who “brake” the game to win it, and they know about Modders and they count on them.
I don´t have to tell you what landfill was befor. if they ever “remove” the Bots it will be an option or an Mod like Landfill (shipped with the game), they wont trow them away they payed people to build them.