Let the manufacturer decide if to coat or not (any manufacturer not just DR), let the manufacturer and distributer advertise, and let the player decide. That would be my answer.

Whether to coat or not seems like a question that should be asked of every string manufacturer, rather than just DR. It is a manufacturing process that most of the companies utilize in their attempt to be competitive in a tuff market. Is it profitable to coat strings or counter productive?

I would guess, from my totally uninformed standpoint, that most strings sold are of the non-coated type.

Is it sensible for manufactures to invest in producing coated strings over the long run? What proportion of players buy coated strings? A poll of who uses and does not use coated strings, not just DR's, but a poll of which brand coated strings they buy might reveal some info on which brand is prefered by players.

So, should DR coat or not coat strings? That is a matter totally up to the management of DR strings, and possibly based in part on their efforts to gather feedback as whether to do so or not.

According to your description I suppose you would say "yes", but it is a highly subjective answer.