My thinking was that recently-near-death 1999 Apple, with no deep moats nor cash cows, needed to present itself as premium and squeaky-clean.

> ... wouldn't the 12-digit profits and a high Fortune 500 listing potentially be enough to make Steve say "We have enough honestly" ...

It'd be nice to imagine. But given Steve's documented horrible behaviors at a number of points in his life...I sadly doubt it.