Hey, thanks! It is something that I muse about often. I'm very into characterization (I fancy myself a writer) and delving into the figures Beth created is always a fascinating exercise for me. There's so much to work with and scrutinize. Especially when it comes to Ulfric, there's even an ongoing debate among players as to the level of his personal sincerity and real motivations for everything he does and has done. I tend to believe there is cause to be skeptical about him honestly, ha. I feel also that (based on my observation) the divergence in fans' allegiance in this game is informed at least in part by whether one has played the previous installments - particularly Oblivion. I may well be an exception to my own hypothesis since Skyrim was my first ES game and I've since begun to work my way backward with play-throughs of the older games - and I wound up siding with the Legion from the outset. But it seems to be a trend I've witnessed. Your first exposure to the Legion in Skyrim is of course when they attempt to behead you - rather, when one careless captain refuses to follow up on your absence from the "list". Obviously if the slate was totally blank for you when it came to the Empire and the Legion up until that point, that could well have sealed your fate as a Stormcloak. And yet, we're shown a sympathetic Hadvar who emerges in direct contrast to the captain and you're then confronted with the chaos of all that's going on.
I am an exception to your observation. I played Morrowind when it was current, way back when I was in high school. I played Oblivion from launch up to The Shivering Isles, as well. My first character was a Nord. In Morrowind, he was too big for much of the armor and some of it wouldn't show up on him, at all, but it all came together in Bloodmoon.
When I played Oblivion, I was very critical, because I felt Cyrodil was very boring, compared to Morrowind. Gone were the days of true exploration and finding true artifacts. Gone were they days of reading and actually having consequences for your actions. Oblivion felt very lazy, to me. The empire seemed weak compared to what I had faced becoming the Nerevarine. It was like the game held your hand.
Skyrim was refreshing, but I realize it can never go back to how it was in Morrowind. At least in Skyrim, when you go to a place you are too weak for, you die, horribly. In oblivion, everything was leveled and nothing was ever hard.
Still, I never respected the Empire. I still remember my beastly Nord that owned Morrowind through blood and effort. When i found out Skyrim would be in Nord homeland, I was elated.
On the other hand, fans who have been familiar with the Empire and what it has stood for and accomplished through ES history (again, here's looking at you, Oblivion) perhaps seem to be more inclined to support it despite the opening sequence and its circumstances. Obviously this is not true for everyone or maybe even most players. But in talking to people on this forum about it at least and in reading reviews, it has been a recurring theme. When it comes to RPing aspects, my main character is a Breton/Redguard from Cyrodiil who is the daughter of a proud (and late) Legionnaire and someone who has always been exposed to a crossroads of cultures, as well as Imperial allegiance. Like her father, she bears no malice toward any peoples of Tamriel based on race alone. She is wary of the Thalmor and resentful of them for all that they've done, and essentially wants to see the Empire restrengthened, so that all can live in peace and as they desire. And so for those reasons and others, siding with the Legion was inevitable. And even though I argue for the Empire vigorously, it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the general sentiment of the Stormcloaks. Seems to me, anyway, that at the end of the day both sides want the same thing. It's but a divergence in timing and approach to achieve the common end.
I think the fall of the Thalmor and the Dominion will benefit all of Tamriel, and that the Storm Cloaks, as patriotic and insensitive as they may be, have the right idea. The Emprire, as great as is once was, faltered when it signed that treaty. The Dominion must fall.
I guess all of the above rambling is to say that I agree with your assessment, there are many things to pull you in opposing directions throughout the campaign. It's all written brilliantly; I only wish the civil war questline itself went on longer and had some more tangible results. For me, after the Imperial victory, seeing the beginning of changes in Windhelm via the new optimism of Dark Elves and Nords alike was uplifting. While I can understand the context we are operating in when it comes to the situation in Windhelm, the racial issues always have been and will be a sticking point for me and it's one thing I just can't write off. But of course it's going to be engaged differently by everyone who plays and it's interesting to hear/read people's varied reactions to it.
I wish the racial issues were handled differently. I did not care for the bullying and segregation when I entered Windhelm, and did my best to subside it. I don't agree with Ulfric's segregation of the dunmer, but I don't think he's Hitler, either. It's unfortunate, but it doesn't really matter, in the big picture, to me.
I have to say, though, I'm legitimately surprised when I read that people think the Legion/Empire is the more popular choice in the civil war. It has long seemed to me that the Stormcloaks were the so-called "fan favorite".
Really though, our main civil war thread goes back and forth enough of the time (and has, for over 200 pages) that it seems like loyalties are roughly evenly split - not unlike the in-game factions themselves.
/novella ...Yikes, that was long.
I appreciate long, well thought out posts much more than accusing, hateful ones that lack substance. Your participation is very welcome, though we may disagree.
That said, I feel the safer choice is the empire, and that most will side with it, especially since most players don't roll a nord. It's much harder to sympathize with the Storm ==Cloaks when you are not a nord.