Yes, that's what I think as well. Goodman is not acting on bad faith, IMO, but he seems somewhat oblivious to the greater implications. Or perhaps, more accurately, his very strong desire to make this product, is making him rationalize the decision.
Indeed. I used to like Golarion, but the amount of metaplot is staggering and I hate metaplot. Give me a setting and then let me play in it. If you want to tell a story, write a cycle of novels...
Yes, but I wonder if, paradoxically, being so unclear actually turned out to be an advantage for D&D. Different folks saw different things in the game and thus it maybe was far more successful than it would have been otherwise.
I have the books. I've never run the system "per se", but I've lifted some stuff for AD&D. It's post-UA AD&D on steroids. If this had been available in the late 80's, I think that my brain would have exploded with joy... :D
Nowadays, I prefer things to be a bit simpler.