Skyrim is better written than Fallout 3 (though that's not saying much) but it's still very much an open world action game with RPG elements, rather than an RPG. If you can enjoy Fallout 3 as a walk around and fight things simulator then you'll enjoy Skyrim.

My biggest issue (and they were present in Fallout 3) with Skyrim is that the world doesn't acknowledge nearly anything you do, except for the psychic town guards who know everything about you, including what skill you just leveled up. It doesn't acknowledge anything else going on in the world either. Dragons coming back for the first time in hundreds of years? Nobody (but the guards and a few main quest NPCs) cares. Civil war going on that should be tearing Skyrim apart? Nobody (but a few characters related to it) cares.

My other big issue is that you can become the leader of every faction within a couple in-game days. ALL of the factions are falling apart, and it's up to you as the newbie to go from recruit to savior to leader within a week. Plus you don't even need to use each faction's skills to ascent its ranks. Mage who's been with the Mage's College for fifty years and mastered his school of magic? Nah, you're a better candidate than him to rule the college, even if you only cast a single spell that is required to join the Mage's College.

Agree, endless dragon hunt :)

That's why I wish the dev programmers would work more on the AND/IF 0+1 TRUE FALSE part of scripting and go deeper with it. I'd much prefer a smaller world to explore with fewer characters that have more fleshed out stories and interactions with the PC, rather than some humongous world with 5,000 bland pointless NPCs acting like portable hit boxes.

Game studios in general seem to keep pushing quantity on us in order to wow money out of our pockets. Just for a change once in a while I wish they'd go with quality instead. You're right, having a PC's decisions matter should mean more than some random audio clips of town guards remarking on your dragon slaying ability... or some hobo in Fallout thanking you for offering him yet another radiated bottle of water.

Oh, and plot vital NPCs not being able to die or be killed. Bad idea. Let a PC walk around in the devastated world he/she has created. Players should be forced to both deal with/adapt to the consequences of their decisions... that is especially true with RPGs. Otherwise, what's the point?