But doesn't the mods take time? So buying it on a sale later would be better because it is cheaper then and has more content/the content you want?

Modders generally only make mods for games that they are enthausiastic for. Its not a given that Starfield will have a modding scene on par with Skyrim.

Most people have talked about how empty things are by talking about the planets. I feel like that part feels too full if anything. They aren't empty enough to give it character. The same goes for almost every other locations. They're so full of junk that they're empty of character.

Do what? Anytime I've walked through a new city I immediately get bogged down with side quests from every other NPC.

I played hundreds of hours of Elite Dangerous, Starfield is crowded by comparison. The universe is mostly empty and I don't mind that in a game.

Factorio has a mod manager built in. It can browse, download, install mods all right there. It even syncs mods to save files and checks for updates. Factorio mods have better support than most games do. I really wish some other developers would put that kind of effort into mods. Just think of what, say, Minecraft could be if it had that.

Many of them can be installed using Vortex Mod Manager from Nexus mods. It helps. Still, the mods can only do so much until mod tools release.

The original vanilla Skyrim was pretty terrible. Don't get me wrong it was playable but it was a very forgettable and unimpressive game. The low quality assets, the bugs, the half-assed talent trees, the uninspired and unfinished quest lines, the dumb AI, the barren ugly towns and landscapes, the bad UI etc. Just think about all the things you have to fix nowadays with mods to play it properly, nevermind adding new stuff.