So... the gog.com installer seems insistent that I have Adobe Reader installed. I don't want it - there are better solutions available (not to mention I run the games under linux with wine). Is there a way to stop the installer from starting the Adobe installer every time I install a game?
Perhaps adding a checkbox for this prior to starting the install?
It just seems wierd to me that, with your DRM stance and all, you try to push some Adobe bloatware at us.

They probably do that to ensure you can read the manuals, which are served in PDF for the most part. But the option to not install Adobe would make sense.

Which games require Adobe Reader?
Everything I've purchased so far has not even mentioned it. Unless It's in the options and I've unticked everything Adobe-esk out of habit.

certainly it would be, there are many .pdf readers out there besides adobe.
But, I would think they may be getting a kick back from adobe. With every GOG game sold, that person gets Adobe acrobat installed as well. Thus virtually widening the ever endless user install base for Adobe acrobat.
And furthering the adobe name.
but..
if a little bit of bloat ware, or ads, helps GOG, I'm willing to deal with a few uninstalls and cleaned registries. I also wouldn't mind ads for other game related services on the forums here either. Selling games this cheap, cannot be as profitable for them as one would hope (of course, it obviously IS profitable, but the percentage may not be as high as one would think off of each individual "unit").
EDIT:
part of the game EULA - from freespace 2
Adobe Reader
============
In accordance with Adobe warranty and software distribution agreement we attached the Adobe Reader installation program and the Adobe eula itself for pdf files we distribute with the game, such as game manual. The license will be available only if you choose to install Adobe Reader with the game.
See licence agreement here: http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/Reader_Player_AIR_WWEULA-Combined-20080204_1313.pdf
For more information on Adobe Reader please visit www.adobe.com.

Specifically I'm complaining of Stronghold and Stronghold: Crusader (fairly new releases to GoG.com)

It's never asked me to install it, but that's probably because I have it installed already. I guess there's some sort of check.
If it is indeed mandatory... Well, it shouldn't be. I hate it when installers force/coerce you into installing all sorts of crap that you don't really need. Especially IE toolbars. And the friggin' "yes, I want to install another useless, unremovable-by-normal-means toolbar onto my system" checkbox is always checked by default! So if you just want to install something, and just click next-next-next, suddenly you're up another useless POS application.
This is where it ends:

If you still have the installers, load them up and check the eula, if it says it installs it, it typically does, of course that is if you don't already have it.

I know the feeling, a Windows update not .NET3.5 adds a mandatory no choice addon to Firefox of all things, that requires you to go into Regedit to remove properly.
That screen shot is rather close to what my granddad's PC looks like. Every 4 months, I go around his place and clean a huge amount of crap off.

I think it would be a big mistake if they ended up going in this direction. A big plus for GOG, in my opinion at least, is the no fuss aspect of it- I don't have to tinker with things, I don't have to deal with crap that's installed with the games, etc. Take that away by forcing users to deal with unwanted software being installed and having to clean up the mess it makes and I wouldn't be surprised to see many people turn to other sources for their games. Additionally, when a company starts quietly bundling other software with their products in exchange for kick backs they immediately become untrustworthy, as there's no telling what software they may decide to bundle next and it may be less than benign. However, I expect the GOG staff knows their customer base well enough to realize this, and in this particular case (with Adobe) I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was probably just included as a matter of convenience (to ensure that people would be able to read the manuals).

aren't there alternate forms of compressing the material for view? why acrobat?

Despite it being propitiatory, it's also pretty much standard. Likely the source material they were given in some cases.
I guess it could be done in HTML, thus more open and accessible.
I'm a plain-text man myself.

Well they could do scans of the manual pages as JPGs and compress them as a CBZ archive. There's a freeware comic reader called cdisplay that'd do the job quite well.
PDFs are good though, I'd personally prefer to have acrobat available but unbundled so you could get it manually if you need it and avoid it if you don't,

Haven't seen them before, but I'm always on the lookout for software that adds more crapware like extra extra extra sprinkles on a chocolate cake.

Couldn't the installer check if there is a program linked to PDF files already installed and if not, then ask if user wants to install acrobat reader or not.
I for one don't really like the program (it's heavy, slow and does not clean it self properly from memory when closing (acrordr32.dll will stay in memory after program is closed)) but use it as matter of convinience (and to stop programs bitching about it).