You're right, Notch isn't the little man. He is just morally in the right. And Bethesda's lawyers are not. I'm making a decision on my thoughts on this case based on the facts, not out of some desire to like obscure things. The fact that notch is not obscure and poor does not make him automatically wrong.
Notch acted flippantly because they think they own a word. They sent a cease and desist letter over the use of a single word. A WORD. A common english word. And that shit is crazy. How can you not act flippantly about that? He proposed a solution that makes more sense then what Bethesdas lawyers are proposing as a problem, in the hope of ending the whole fiasco with no hard feelings. That's respectable.
Yes, they can sue notch. That is their right. I also have the right to believe that I invented the letter Q, but that doesn't make that opinion less crazy, or a random passerby any less in the right to think that I am whacked out of my skull. Because if I believes that, they would be right.
Honestly, this anti-boycott thing is either Bethesda fanboys doing the exact same thing they are accusing Notch fanboys of doing, or mindless rage at the very concept of boycotting based on the foolish actions of past boycotts. Boycotts have a purpose. They show the person doing the selling that they are accountable for there actions. Personally I think it would be better to just say, "Im not buying Skyrim because that lawesuit is dumb", but hey, the army you have, right? The ideal situation is that enough people decide to boycott (And given how obviously crazy Bethesdas people are being, the number shouldn't need to be too high. You don't want to join the boycott, no ones forcing you and the effort won't be wasted if you don't) and they decide to stop with their frivolous lawsuit, and then everyone buys Skyrim. That's the ideal situation here, and that is a good situation.