I really don't know too much about the Lore, admittedly, I started with Oblivion, and am currently playing Morrowind, (though it's been spoiled for me already)

So, yeah. I know each of the ES games had their bad guy, but is there anyone in the ES universe that can truly be considered the baddest of the bad? Alduin? Any help would be appreciated!

The altmer of summerset ilse comes to my mind.

There really is no good or evil in TES, just chaos and order.

So it is up to you who you think is your good guy and your bad guy.

That is just my opinion, of course

Mehnrunes dagon is often protrayed as the bad guy, always trying to take Nirn for himself.

See Battlespire, Oblivion, and I also think he was tied to Jagar Tharn taking over in Arena aswell.

Dagon is the first that comes to mind; he's the most frequently threatening force.

Ideologically Hellmouth is arguably right, but it practice, no. And depending on which way your bias leans you could even call them the good guys.

I think the whole "kill man" and that nasty racial purging business has really pushed them further towards "bad guy" status. That it's for their own benefit makes it even worse.

Out the four main entries into the series so far, three of the Big Bads have been Merrish.

Think about it.

No idea, but I kinda wish someone would revive Jagar Tharn, like some crazy cultist guys or some kind of lich who's completely devoted to him. I'd love to see what could be done with old Jaggy, when injected with a little post-Morrowind lore.

Arena portrayed him as the archetypical evil advisor to the king (seriously, why do people keep hiring wizards?), but he's got potential to be so much more.

What happens to the Et'ada who became mankind if the world is destroyed? If they are released from the 'prison of linear time', as it were, then aren't the Altmer really the ultimate force for good, at least philosophically? Or does removing the possibility of man mean somehow destroying the spirits they can't remember being?

Feels to me like the whole "we'll become gods if the world is destroyed" is invalidated by the fact that when the Dwemer actually reversed the process they didn't make themselves into a race of gods, but merely turned their entire race into divine flesh.

Edit: Other issue is that I may be wrong, but I don't think the elves believe that men are depowered gods like they believe themselves to be.

This is the grand vizier syndrome.
Terry Pratchett put it thus:
Somewhere in the minds of great rulers must be a quirk that goes: 'So.. Youre a powerhungry scheming madman? You can be my most trusted advisor then.'

That's it! I was actually gonna type that, couldn't remember the exact quote, though.

Dagon just wants to become human again, he tried to resist Alduin from Eating The World thing by hiding peaces of the previous Kapla to the present Kapla and Alduin cursed him by making him the Prince of Destruction, so he just tries to invade Tamriel in order to find all of the pieces he hide so the curse would be lifted.

not human, but a kindly leaper demon king.

The men of Tamriel come to my mind.

For the casual player who just tunes in for the main quest, and who never really delves into the lore, Dagon is the Big Bad. If you do delve into the lore then you start to find its not that simple.

Yes, there is a main bad guy, and it is all of the gods, every last one of them. Well, lesser gods, such as those in the ranks of aedra/daedra, and those who ascend into godhood such as the Tribunal, etc.

The world would probably be a better place without them. Different. But maybe better?

...what. It wouldn't *exist* without them... I don't even...

I would say Marukh. He condemned all to guilt, introduced the idea of consorting with demons (a word which I choose on purpose), and showed us that resistance is heresy.

Mer all the way, Dagon acts the way he does because he's cursed too, a punishment for trying to save the world. The Mer on the other hand, specifically the Altmer, are a bunch of snobs who wanna kill everyone.

It's called having fun and joking around, lol. But hypothetically, it could still exist without the aid of the Aedra. I mean, the only difference between the two are Daedra didn't help and Aedra did, right? It'd just be vastly different, since the Aedra wouldn't have given up their power. You'd still have Lorkhan's soul creation. Baring this, which led to the distinction of Aedra and Daedra, and eventually all of the other lesser divine, then things would be different. If I was to pretend to be serious about my statement, I could amend onto it that, in response to your post, "Precisely! And that is why they're the main enemy. All that has happened on Nirn and beyond is due to their foolishness sans pre-et'Ada 'era'." Which is quite logical. It is better to never have existed than to be born and live to forced to die (and in the case of TES, be reborn over and over).

Who says the existence of the world and the state of being alive are good things?

Men say it is, obviously

Sometimes, I wish this forum had a +1 or "like" button. That was a very nice pithy response, and I want you to know that I appreciate it, Lord Tidus, but I don't really have anything constructive to say.

Let's see. We've seen what happens when creation is reversed and the results weren't pretty. An entire race turned into divine flesh. Not divine beings, just divine flesh.