As with most things, there isn't likely to be a completely unambiguous "A is better than B" consensus on this topic. I have no problem with the fact that the various console options and walkthroughs are available so easily nowadays. And, I certainly have nothing to say about the ethics of other people using them. But, I will say that
my gaming experience is generally better when the game is more challenging and the "cheats" often (not always) make the game easier. I guess what that boils down to is that there is more fun for me when I exercise a little discipline and resist the urge to use easily available shortcuts.
In support of the resist-the-urge-to-cheat side, I'll note that a good chunk of my time spent on NWN recently has been tweaking a couple mods (currently the Sands of Fate series) so that when my playing partner and I go through them, they are still challenging. Of course, most of this is because I have played some of the modules before and she hasn't, but even modules that are new to both of us often have little things where something that should have been challenging wasn't. E.g., there are "dragon stuck in the door" problems or issues playing on Hardcore or Very Difficult where a boss really should have had a couple more minions spawn to take on a multiplayer party than he does when there is just a single player and some companions. Often the most fun we have is when we can't beat an opponent right off the bat and have to reload a few times and come up with a better strategy. And, often the least fun we have is when we feel so overpowering that we can barge into any place on the map and crush whatever is there without any reconnaissance or buffing. I don't think there has been a case yet where there's been a reason to make things easier.
That said, I certainly use various console cheats from time to time or I will look at a walkthrough to see if there is some quest that I missed or maybe a reason to go back later and replay the module with another character because a different class or race would have had some different fun. I actually got involved in another gaming community initially because I was playing Freedom Force and I got stuck trying to beat Shadow (without spoilers - because
newbs can still play the game - I'll just say there is a trick to it). As a slightly more experienced gamer now, I know about that
type of trick and I would try it fairly soon, but I didn't know it then and I was getting frustrated with the game after several hours. I was glad there was a FAQ available with some of the common hints available.
And, as much fun as extra challenge can be, there are many instances where the fact that things are easier leads to more fun overall. I probably never would have played a few games if they weren't available for downloadable sale. I know that isn't a cheat, per se, but it illustrates the point that making one thing easier sometimes means you can have more fun by putting that time/effort into something else. I played through the OC the first time without any "help" that I can recall. But, I have had fun playing through it later and that fun has been enhanced by the fact that I can say, "Okay, instead of spending the next half hour checking every chest, crate, and rain barrel on this map, I am going to use the console to give myself 300 gold and 3 potions and be done with it."
In addition, I am a somewhat technical person and my early exploration of the console commands made me curious how the game works and that's what lead me to open up the toolset the first time. Since then, I have had fun designing new items, scripting new spells, creating bows with interesting unique properties, and even writing a python utility that lets me import modified resources into a saved game (a time-saver for testing modules where restarting at the new area or whatever isn't a good option because of all the variables that have been set). I don't know that I would have gotten interested in doing any of that without the curiosity spawned by digging around a little under the hood with the console...
