Re: Were the problems with butlers ever fixed?
Sort of? My Sims in one save had a butler. (They were vampires who couldn't cook and wanted someone to cook for their kids.) The butler slept at weird hours, which was fine for a vampire household. Things were great until they ran into the bug where Sims would cook if they were hungry but never eat. I ended up firing him because he cooked and cooked and cooked...
...AND COOKED...
...and cooked and cooked and cooked and pointed at his mouth AND COOKED... and would finally eat a quick meal like animal crackers after every available surface in the house was covered with food. It was a big house! I hear they fixed that bug, but my Sims have not re-hired a butler. (Their kids aged up to teen and no longer eat, so they no longer have a need.)
Since they fixed that bug, I imagine they're just fine though.