For implementing the css and html expansions there is indeed no need of using a plugin. The emmet plugin also has a lot of command like increase numbers, replace enclosing html tags (I almost never used btw). Maybe for this functions a plugin was needed?
The original zen-coding bundle (base for emmet) also was just a bundle.
= feek
-- Sent from: http://textmate.1073791.n5.nabble.com/textmate-users-f3.html