Why does everybody say this about
everything?
They could probably just devise a formula factoring your stamina, damage, and weapon skills into removing a certain amount of points from the lock strength when bashed. Upon hitting 0, the lock has effectively been picked. Aside from animations and perhaps having to balance some areas, I don't see it as a big deal. Perhaps if they wanted to really push the envelope, an "is bashable" flag could be added to keep certain areas off-limits without the proper key or quest.
I personally felt that dealing with locked containers/doors in Oblivion was far more frustrating than in Morrowind, if only because spell scrolls seemed far harder to come by. Just bring back lock bashing!