With the conversation about the Shadow Broker DLC in the Game of the Year 2010 podcast I'm curious how you guys think Shadow Broker will effect Mass Effect 3. 
 
My theory is that Liara replaces the Illusive Man and will give you information on what to do. I say this because depending on how your ending went you could stick it to the Illusive Man and quit Cerberus. Doing this leaves Shepard without help from Cerberus, The Alliance, and the Council making Liara the only person who can help Shepard.

As of Shadow Broker, I do think Shepard is taking steps to become his own person. I think that theme will likely continue for the rest of the DLC, but I suppose that's beside the point here.
 
By ME3, I want Shepard to be his own boss. For the past two games, he's been an agent of the Alliance, Council, or Cerberus. Liara is less likely to be giving orders or working with him so much as working under him. So that basically leaves the galaxy's most thorough and advanced information network at Shepard's fingertips. I hope the trend of that continues, maybe future DLCs set between ME2 and ME3 showing him getting his own private army and resources, but I suppose those also came, to a degree, with the Shadow Broker's network.
 
Anyway, that's where I see Shepard for ME3. No longer a marine, a SPECTRE, or an agent doing dirt for Cerberus or whoever. I think that him being a free agent would more likely help with the whole "unite the galaxy" thing, too.

I think that it has to play a larger role in ME3. The role of the Shadow Broker is a huge one in that universe, and if they just ignored that, then I think we'd be missing out on a potentially great side-story.

" @wasteguru:  Quitting Cerberus would not cut him off from the Alliance or the Council, he is still a spectre and so represesnts the council. "

I was talking with somebody about this for a while the other day.
 
He asked me a question since he'd just bought the Liara DLC and said to me "What will happen to players who bought the DLC and those who didn't? Will they have different scenes or talks with Liara in the third game?"
 
And I thought, interesting point, maybe if we do see Liara in ME3 she may tell you she went alone and took on the Shadow Broker or she just may not bring it up. Though for anyone who did play the second without the DLC it is evident that she did have intention to take him down and fit his body into a coffee cup.
 
As a result of the confusion I think either Liara will be a recon from a distance or basically in communication with you (possibly Hitman 2 style Agency story? You do a contract for us, we give you the info you need for your friend's kidnapping location?) or she won't even play that big a part like me and some people are suspecting. Either that or she'll just the shadow broker regardless and Bioware will say, well. Read our comics please. Which I know the incoming comics are about the Illusive Man but I think that there might be something in there to hint about Liara's new position. I don't know anymore *head explodes while trying to comprehend*   

I think that the Shadow Broker story is so important to the overall ME story that it can't not be mentioned in Mass Effect 3. If people come into ME3 without playing it, I think Bioware will just make it 'canon' either way and tell the player that Liara eventually took down the Shadow Broker and inherited the position, and is now capable of aiding Shepard through that - and then if you did play, it would be similar dialogue, but rather than 'I took down the Shadow Broker', it would be 'We took down the Shadow Broker' or something similar. Otherwise people who hadn't played it might think 'Oh hang on, Character X is back for this, why can't I get Liara to join me, she's only on Illium!'. 
 
And I agree with people saying that Liara will work for Shepard, rather than as his or her boss. I think going into the third game, especially if Shepard took the paragon decision at the end of 2 to sever his ties with The Illusive Man, Shep will be more of their own person, gathering the support of The Alliance and other species to combat the Reapers. It'll be Shepard making the decisions, rather than someone giving him a mission, I think.

If you saved the Collector ship, Shepard still basically tells the Illusive Man to shove it, so I think he'll end up going renegade on Cerberus regardless. I always thought it was weird to actually defeat the Shadow Broker in a DLC for Mass Effect 2. What occurs is something so pivotal, I almost assumed they were going to do the whole, "your princess is in another castle," but still find a way to give you important intel and still advance the plot regardless.