I do understand the problems with addons, Boss mods made raiding mindless but it also made it obvious how lame boss mechanics are, at X hp or X time after fight starts use this ability.
Gear score isn't that bad, it made it a lot easier when needing a pug player. Sitting around with 4 people on vent looking at a armory profile discussing if they know how to spec and have good enough gear was a terrible waste of time.
Holding off on the addons does make people realize it is a different game, if we had click healing, dps meters, UI packages, auction house addons all on release everyone would feel like they have already been playing this game for years, except now they are in space.