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My first e-reader didn't have a frontlight, and I replaced it after half a year because I missed having a light when I was on the bus and it was getting dark. So I bought the same model with a frontlight soon after it came out.
I mostly need the light when I read in bed at night or even at day time in my living room when there's not enough light coming in through the windows. It is very convenient and the contrast is really much better than without a light. I don't think the newer devices have a worse contrast without the light on than older non-frontlit devices. At least not very noticable.
Low-quality content would only apply to PDFs but the light helps with that, too.
I never had a problem with battery life although I read a lot. I very rarely have to charge my devices fully because I plug them into my PC for loading books quite often. Only the Kindle devices cannot be turned off fully and lose their charge very quickly.
The quality issues can be really bad, though. I've had tried out various models, about 20, over the years and only kept the ones that were evenly lit. I've seen many Kindles, all with different lighting and hues, clouding and brighter spots. The new comfort light feature with orange/yellow LEDs has caused new problems with even more uneven light. I also fixed the light bleeds on my Kobo Clara HD, but only because that was possible and the light was otherwise even.
I think it is technically difficult to have an even light on large screens. That might be why there are no models with a frontlight larger than 8" (or are there?).
I wouldn't buy a reader without a frontlight anymore, just because I want to be able to read anytime anywhere. Also, I've really got used to the comfort light which I use during the day, too. It looks much more natural than blue LEDs.
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