Do caster out of combat options matter?

[Vahnavoi]

Why would I? I set up a scenario, it's up to players to decide how they'll deal with it. Wasting time trying to account for every possible player decision and outcome of every possible roll is beyond pointless.

Why would you? To answer questions such as "do these options matter?". If you never do that, you end up arguing from ignorance.

Exhaustive analysis is not necessary to set up a game, though. If I set up four encounters that the players can tackle in any order, I can be confident there are at least 4! paths through the game even if I never explicitly list them. That's part of the appeal of setting up processes to create content, rather than creating content: I don't have to think up what happens next beforehand, because play will produce the answer.

Players deciding how to deal with a given situation is part and parcel with that, as already explained. I'm simply telling you why it matters which path players decide to follow.

That is correct. The tactical decisions the players make and the random outcome of the rolls in combat are irrelevant to how the encounter itself is set up.

They are very much relevant when tactical decisions and chance events from earlier encounters have effect on the current one. Facing ten orcs in a square room becomes different situation based on whether a Wizard is willing and able to use that Fireball, etc.. By failing to understand that, you fail to understand the advice given.