So I stumbled on this today while I was trying to determine if I could update my academic installation to 2014. Downloaded, tested... seems to work okay for the moment. By which I mean 'has about as many problems as the 2012 version did' but if you copy enough stuff over from a working Nif in Nifskope after export... it seems functional. Nif imported, exported, after post export cleanup stuff (copying BsLightingShaders etc) the weapon I tested loaded in game.

So. Apparently, there IS a solution for 3DSMax 2013 and 14 now. Which is good, because it means I can use the same program to model for Skyrim as I'll be using for Saints Row IV.

Progress!