In the deal, those small accessories were just makeweights, the real value was in the core equipment.

makeweights 是由动词 make（使成为）和名词 weight（重量）组成的复合名词，字面意思是"用来凑足重量的东西"。引申为"为了凑数而添加的次要物品"，常带有贬义，指那些没有实际价值、只是为了充数而存在的东西。