essential stable hands? (specifically the ones you can buy horses from) because i just had to reload after the horse merchent died from vampire attack...

what happened was... i was already inside whiterun in breezehome arranging my cupboards etc, then stepped outside. apparently a vampire was already there waiting to attack when i came out. everybody attascked and killed it. ok koool nobody important died THAT TIME (belethor is dead again...2nd chAracter since dawnguard he died both times without me being around to stop it).. so i went and fast traveled to the stables thinkin i was ok..(thinking incorrectly apparently that by fast traveling outside whiterun i would be safe from vampire attacks). got there and death hounds were attacking and killin the stable merchant. he died. apparently he isnt essential. he has never been killed by dragon attacks before but now he dies. afraid i could never be able to buy another horse from whiterun i reloaded. thank god i was able to catch it THIS TIME before the attack got beyond by ability to stop upon fast travel arrival, like in the other thread i started about the forgemasters fingers orc greeter at the stronghold was killed on arrival by TWO dragons at once before i could stop it and then the quest wouldnt continue...so can we please have essential merchants? at the very least essential horse merchants? maybe have merchant AI make them run away instead of run into a hopeless fight to die?

If the stable merchant Skulvar is killed, His son takes over.
I think his son's name is Jervar.

I posted earlier about my middle of the day, stepping out of breezehome vamp attack. Thought it was on me, but apparently the MV decided to off Nazeem instead (can't complain about his choice, I must admit). After staggering him, I let fly with the finishing strike, and hit Ariane from the forge.

Some npc's really do cry out for essential status.

Normally I would romp through the DG main quest, but this time I've taken my time, and it is an endless battle to keep important npc's alive. I think there is a big dvelopment difference between 'prompting' players to get into a questline, and making the action so desperate and deadly that it is counterproductive to linger in it.

How about essential anybody that owns a major business.