Agreed, the software I am most likely to buy (and least likely to try to use without buying) is one with a lifetime license and offline activation for unlimited

Agreed, the software I am most likely to buy (and least likely to try to use without buying) is one with a lifetime license and offline activation for unlimited machines, even if it's just for one version. That's very valuable to me; as long as I can access the key and installer, I know I will always be able to run it. Subscriptions are a negative value, it's something that'll bleed me dry as long as I have it.