TL;DR - remarkable story of realisation of how good fallout character development really is, followed by asking for other examples of similar stories.

So i just started my fourth New vegas play through, having already created max level guns, explosives and melee characters.

I set about starting a new character and just reached level 30, and for the first time i feel like i have actually realised the true brilliance of the fallout universe, its perk and skill system and character development.

The character was an estranged BoS paladin, focussing on DT and knockdown as opposed to raw damage and dps.

Having spent the majority of life inside the hidden valley bunker, he was chosen to be sent on a special courier mission from the mojave chapter to the east coast. After heading to primm to liaise with the mojave express for any other packages intended for the east coast, he accidentally came into possession of the platinum chip, which is what led him to cross paths with benny.

I started with the following Special
S - 8
P - 4
E - 8
C - 3
I - 7
A - 7
L - 3

Science, unarmed and medicine were tagged,
while I took heavy handed and hot blooded as my traits.

I started the playthrough as an understanding, good natured paladin, less akin to the rest of the Chapter, part of the reason he was chosen to journey to the east. He began by liberating Goodsprings from the powder gangers, before heading to primm once again and bringing marshall law back in the form of reliable old tech robotics. However, after the run in with benny, meeting veronica and helping her struggle within the brotherhood and finally wiping out the sorrows with the help of Joshua Graham, i found myself personally seeing the character develop into a more ruthless member of the BoS, intent on bringing them back to their former glory. I ousted Mcnamara, bringing Hardin to the reigns of the chapter and at his command slaughtered the van graffs without regret. Using my knowledge of old war tech learnt from Elijah during a run in at the Sierra Madre Casino and by utilising the Yes man to his most helpful degree, i recaptured Helios One, arming Archimedes to use to the brotherhoods benefit. As the character stands now i am about to embark on a mission to the big MT to learn as much as i can for the good of the brotherhood in order to return the true strength to the BoS.

If your getting to the end of this thinking big deal who cares about your character, then proceed to another thread.

What the point of all this is that I, after approximately 300hours played of fallout has finally realised how incredibly indepth and detailed the character progression really can be. There is so much scope not only to develop your character in a combat orientated sense, but by the choices you actively make in the wasteland having a direct impact on your character, defining who you want them to be.

Now I ask you - are there any examples where your character hasnt taken the path you intended them to, where you found them developing in ways your didnt forsee?
Where did you start vs where you ended up?

I think you're the first person I've met that actually armed the weapon at Helios One. Your path on the BoS has been interesting, but how are you going to resolve the Strip? No, don't answer. I'll wait for your final play through.

As for the question, my first two games had me taking paths I didn't really intend to, mostly because I wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but jumped in feet first anyway. I also outed McNamara and told Veronica to leave the BoS, which provided me with one of the toughest fights in the game. It took several attempts to clear the BoS from the Follower's hideout, but eventually, Veronica and I continued onward. I also learned you never fire on the BoS first, with Veronica at your side. Ugh. What a lashing she gave.

I also found myself in Jacobstown to fix poor ol' Rex, and was instantly caught up in a petty feud between the Nightkin and the Mutants. I helped the doc discover the source of the stealth issues, but only out of curiosity. Sadly, I had to kill Keene because I didn't have a choice. I felt bad leaving Jacobstown with an unnecessary death on my hands, and even the parting words from Marcus didn't help (I'm sure to have those speech skills before I go there now).

While helping the Boomers recover a lost plane, I thought I was going to be smart and take a shortcut through a rail station. If you find my left arm, can you mail it to me? What an ambush. I sure as heck wasn't strong enough to try again, so I ended up taking the scenic route, and found myself slightly derailed from the quest.

Ah, the memories.

Yeah, one of my favorite things about this game is that you can play it as a different person. Yes, you are "the courier", but I never feel forced to play as him. I mean, in FO3, I always felt like a kid from Vault 101 looking for his dad. Yes, you could be a Good LW or and Evil LW, or even a Neutral LW, but you always felt like the Lone Wander. In New Vegas, I feel like I do a playthrough as a member of the NCR, or the Brotherhood, or the Legion. I, personally, like this.

So, anyway, one of my favorite playthroughs was when I started out as a morally "dark grey" Powder Ganger, with sneak, lockpick, and explosives tagged. It was a pretty simple backstory; he had broken out during the initial riot, and spend the next few days raiding, until he found this courier, who refused the Ganger's generous offer of trading his rucksack for his life, and thus killed and looted the guy for his clothes and a nifty platinum chip. After getting ambushed in turn by Benny and his gang, he woke up and returned to the prison, where he made a home base in a trailer north of of the place. Spent the next few days raiding with his friends on the road, doing odd jobs for Eddie, and other typical Powder Ganger stuff. He did try to be nice about, it demanding tolls be paid rather than just attacking on sight, and stealing if murder wasn't required. But, getting loot for the Gang was still the top priority.

After the NCR raided the NCRCF (which he did help defend, though many of his friends died in the assault), he decided the place was too dangerous, and the targets were drying up, so he figured he would try to meet up with the Gangers in Vault 19 he had heard about. Obviously, the road north was blocked, but he heard that Nipton had some good times in store for Powder Gangers, so he decided to take the long route.

Nipton, of course, wasn't as fun a time as he had hoped so he headed North, avoiding NCR and Legion patrols, and made it to the Vault. There, he sided with Cooke over Lem, and helped the gang join up with the Great Khans. At this point, my character faced a crucial decision. He could join up with the Khans with his gang (and eventually help their allies, the Legion), he could head off in some other direction, or he could try to change the Khans so they broke their alliance.

Originally, I had planned it that my character would join the Khans, and, by extension, complete the game for the Legion, out of both his newfound loyalty to the Khans and mutual hatred of the NCR. But, as I thought about it, I figured that wouldn't really make sense for the character. The Legion has no tolerance for lawbreakers like the himself, and after viewing what happened to his fellow cellmates in Nipton, the character would have little love for the Legion. So, instead, he struck out for Vegas, where he met a certain Robert House and his promise of riches.

The only DLC that I felt fit was Dead Money, so I did that too, but I think Lonesome Road might have been funny. "Sorry, Ulysses, I think you have me confused with someone else".