To me, there's a huge difference between "immersion" and "overly complicating things just to complicate things".
What blacksmith? I understand some of you are big on 'repairing' tools (and weapons), but when a pickaxe 'wears out' or 'breaks', how hard is it to craft a new one? Or while you're at it, craft 2 and carry a spare? Having a blacksmith in the game implies that he works in a Town. That means you have to live near a Town so you can get to it easily. People have also advocated NPC's to farm for you. To me, that means the production of more than you can eat, so you load up the excess on your Buckboard that you crafted, hitch it to your Horse you found and tamed with the Harness that you crafted, and haul the extra produce to Town to sell or trade it at a Shop or Mill there, which means there's a Miller. There's a Baker that runs a Bakery, an Armorer that runs an Armory, etc., etc..
(Course the economy thing is a whole nuther animal, cause a Blacksmith doesn't do any 'repairs' for free, right?)
Sorry, but I thought RW was about you taking on the world. You are the blacksmith, miller, baker, farmer, rancher, hunter, miner, armorer, lumberjack, etc. Isn't that complicated enough? I know some of you would love all the interactions you can have with a bunch of other characters in the game, but this isn't Skyrim. There's just you. I see it as your job to become self-sufficient. To "live long and prosper".
I guess I just see the game differently than some of you.
I don't want NPCs to do the stuff you listed. Maybe NPC villages which serve a different purpose (like providing lore and unique items etc..). Thus my "But yeah anything that creates immersion within the RW world, I'm all for it." You see, within the RW world. 
What blacksmith? Well this one: I would like the game to be deep enough that people could create a server for RPG type play (yes there will be creative mode for people who just want to build.. that has been made clear yes?) where each player has his home (no wife and children stuff..) and works with the others (if he chose to) to build a community, or build his own part of it (blacksmith, tanner, grocer, modern home appliance manufacturer, wire maker, vehicle mechanic, furniture maker, glass blower, animal tamer... whatever the hell...) and from there has to manage his small business (even within a barter system). So there's his (I should say his/her) house to manage plus stuff for his/her business. Resources that need to be collected or bartered for etc.., work to be done at the business. Anyways, you get the idea. So this is more what I see for ideas like this, not NPCs all over the place and the player just stands around watching. None of that. But if someone wants to do that... they can fill the world with NPCs in Creative mode and give them jobs then plop it onto a server they play on in Survival mode. Tis up to them. You don't have to play on that server.
Repairing stuff. Well, I don't like the idea of building or crafting things and that's it... it's done. Got an item and there is never a need to make another or fix it. Mind you, do I want to be repairing every board of my house each month? Hell no. But certain things, yeah.. it would be great to have to repair. Tools, weapons, armor/clothing, wiring, piping, machines, vehicle, cart, animal fencing... the obvious things that get used and it makes sense that they would degrade over time. Nothing like, use a hammer 10 times and it breaks.. it should take longer then that. It should be easy to check the status of things. There of course should be the option to just replace things with a new one if that works for you, or if there is a repair skill and you just don't want to level it...
But what repairing stuff in general does is.. gets you involved in your build/items! You have to maintain what you make. If you build a mine with tracks and a mine cart.. you have to check on it to make sure everything isn't going to break. Either repair or replace stuff (which should take more resources).. you are involved in your build. It ends up having bit of a life of it's own. It means more. It continues to provide things to do. If not.. well what Seemax said will be true.. total boredom after a month of play or less.
Stuff like this doesn't have to be done in the most complex manner. Sure it can take a lot to explain ideas sometimes but that doesn't mean it can't be a simple game mechanic. But it adds depth and longevity to the game, that is the main point I think for anyone suggesting this kind of stuff. If devs just cater to the builders.. then they'll just have builders playing. Honestly, the only reason I am still here is the hopes I have for the other modes, not creative (although creative will be fun too). But devs want surival mode, adventure mode, stranded mode... isn't it obvious the devs themselves don't just want creative? You will have what you want Geneo, no worries. I get your point, but relax a bit dude. 
Trust me, I would love for new features all the time! 
lol
