I wonder how the Stellaris mod makers feel after each new DLC release . =))))

They feel either A: "Oh cool, that's something I want in the game", or B: "Meh, not into it, I'll just ignore it." Do you not understand you're not required to get all the DLC? The base game is fine as-is; the DLC is for those who replay it a lot and might want to spice things up eventually. I have three DLCs that I was interested in and as for the rest, I'm glad they're there for those who want them, but given that I don't have an unhealthy psychological need to "catch them all" just for the sake of it, I simply don't bother with them.

Also, they respect players who are into multiplayer by only requiring the host to own any DLC you might want to use; the rest get the effects regardless. I know people like to do the typical internet dog-pile "hurr durr DLC lol" but come on, at least for Stellaris it's not abusive.

My reaction to this expansion was quite similar to the one I had for the previous ones:
« Hey, looks like a nice expansion! I think I might buy it one or two years from now, when it’s reliably discounted 50% off and I’m done playing through the expansions I already own. »

How is the main game since the last 2-3 dlc?

@Niggles not as bad as it was with 2 but still pretty busted

the Ai gives up about mid game because it just spams clerks and the reinforcement fleet button ignores ships being sent to a fleet so you end up with dozens of corvettes sitting around or taking 5 years to reach the fleet they are going to... if you blink you will miss the end game and if you become the crisis then your game will crash

the music is still the best imo and early game until the Khain wakes up is worth playing

Proper modders almost always hosted their mods on external sites, not on Steam workshop. nexusmods just to name one.

I run GOG's version of Stellaris with mods and there is no hassle to enable them. GOG is a place where gamers don't want gaming clients to manage their mods. We want full control of our game, that's why we buy on GOG in the first place.
You get used to it, no special secret :)