IMO if something breaks because a plugin isn’t installed, then that itself is a bug. Core should not depend on plugins. Plugins themselves should clearly list their requirements on their respective pages.
But yes, this is going to make the self-hosted version even less stable going forward, since it’ll be the self-hosters stumbling through these issues. Between this and the forked thread, I really don’t get the impression that stability of self-hosters is a high priority for the team.