They voted overwhelmingly for an in game event that would force a change of personality on Malaena / Catherine. The majority of people who selected this option also said they would activate the event on the first try. I really hated this idea, because it shows the voters cared less about the consistency of character personality, to the point of doing something evil like modifying their personality. This isn't the audience the game is catering to. I also said in the poll (that was open so anyone could vote on it, wasn't just patrons) " THIS DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE HIGHEST RESULT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED. I'm doing this to see some numbers and gauge what people think. I'd be more swayed by the patron poll results because these are the people who are supporting and helping the project, but still interested to see what the general audience at large thinks."
They were corruption harems, which I've already said a few times I don't have a problem with. You are literally manipulating their personality to make them ok with being in a harem. This is different because there is no corruption / magical powers / mind control shit going on. Nor will there be, because it's not that kind of game.
The relationship progression of a character won't be tied to the main story progression. The only thing you'll miss out on by not playing the main story progression is a scene at the end with your selected love interest(s) probably just prior to the ending and of course the ending itself.