Why has no one hacked a Mr Handy and rode him around like a nuclear space hopper? haha

Also, the wasteland is hilariously dangerous, if just a few hundred feet from your sustenance farming operation is a nest of mutant bugs that are only kept from killing you because they are fighting with the cannibalistic zombie people, who themselves are fleeing from a group of super mutant cannibals... maybe most people arent interested in going far from home? The original fallout had some decent trade networks set up and there could be some use for motorized vehicles there but Fallout 3 and 4 are both set in areas with a far higher concentration of hostiles and far more environmental clutter.

My attempts at saddling and riding a Deathclaw have so far just resulted in evisceration (mine).

hah....Todd....Todd never changes.....

Again, you really think the distribution of skills like that is 1 in 100? Even today?

How many garage mechanics do you think know *anything* about how the systems they maintain work, other than what their diagnostic computers tell them about which components to switch out?

The percentage isn't as obvious because Those That Can tend to be clustered near each while outside of those relatively few communities/clans/whatever there is a large "knowledge gap". Even some groups of Raiders are savvy enough to keep some sets of Power Armor operational. Wherever there is just one power mechanic, there will be others fulfilling the roles of apprentice/understudy/heir apparent. Any population grouping that possesses some of that valuable, rare tech WILL want to know that they will be able to keep that tech functional. That means knowing more than just that Knob A inserts to Slot B; they will need to understand the principles behind Why It Works That Way. That knowledge is what makes modifications and jury-rigging possible.

Umm.. all our characters can become nuclear physicists just by killing irradiated cockroaches. No NCR, BoS, or Enclave needed.