PDC emulator and Global catalog Server

The case below pertains to a Windows 2000 domain in mixed mode.
So far, it was my understanding that users on Win98 and NT4 clients needed a PDC emulator in the domain to be able to log on. Also, that a Global Catalog server was required for everyone to logon, except the Domain Admins.
To test this, I transferred the Global catalog role and the PDC emulator FSMO to one Domain Controller and took it offline. No other server had the Global Catalog role.
To my surprise, Users with Windows98 and NT4 machines could still logon to domain and browse the network. Did I miss something?

 

Why does the GC matter if you only have one domain? In mixed mode there are no universal groups but DCs can check membership in a single native-mode domain as well.

 

The GC is only for Win2k based clients. Those clients need a GC to find a local domain controller. They find it via DNS.
WinNT / 9x based clients can still broadcast to find a local domain controller via the PDC emulator.