I don't think it's gutsy.

1. They are a patent troll.

2. They have no brand to tarnish.

3. Even if they did have a brand to tarnish (oh, your THOSE patent trolls, no thanks I'll sell to someone else), their assests can easily be transferred to an array of successor companies with little impact to their ability to troll.

4. Their promise is not an enforceable contract. There's no "consideration" involved. If they don't pay, there's no legal recourse.

5. It looks to me like a plan to either:

a. Influence public opinion.

b. Provide a defense against tortious interference claims.

(note: I'm not a lawyer, this is just ignorant supposition).

$1000/dev that they threaten. They have only threatened a handful of people.

Of course, they just making an offer, and, like any gift, they are under no obligation to make good on it.

If they refused to honor the offer in the event that they lose, they would not likely be worried about their reputation.

It's only what, $8000? A drop in the ocean for Lodsys, and $1000 isn't going to do anything for these developers.

IANAL, but I suspect it would still cost the targeted developers more than $1000 worth of lawyering to fend of Lodsys in the meantime. Expecting to collect on that requires you to believe that either a) Lodsys won't make good on their threat to sue, or b) that Apple will somehow both intervene and win before they do. It's still going to be easier and cheaper to just give them the money.