Windows 10 and 11 Enterprise both support Digital Entitlement, meaning no volume license or software assurance needed as was in the past. On Media Creation Tool there is also the "/Retail" license switch to download Enterprise in Retail mode instead of VL. That made me wonder... Does Microsoft actually sell this SKU for OEMs and/or Retail, which would make it a replacement for Ultimate? And can you theoretically buy a new machine with this edition preloaded?
Enterprise is, AFAIK, the SKU with the most features, most RAM support... Making it IMHO a direct successor to Vista/7 Ultimate.
I don't really get all those comparisons, it's 10/11 that has it available as OEMRET or VL, not 7 nor Vista. And why would that depend on licensing?
The SKU is no longer restricted to SA or VL. It can be obtained and used by anyone. Just like Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise, which were feature-wise identical, the only difference was the licensing. With Windows 10 and 11, that licensing difference isn't there anymore.