I'm wondering - has anyone ever thought about going back to vanilla Oblivion (with or without the unofficial Patches, Oblivion Stutter Remover, Streamline, or other such items)? Or perhaps you've actually done so?

I've thought about removing all of my modded content for a while - or at least building a vanilla-only install - just for fun. Or perhaps I'll dust off my old PS3 copy.
Sometimes I think I've gotten a little too "mod-happy" and have installed so much content I've just made the game...busy...without adding too much to the fun factor.

I tend not to mod my games too much. Although I will throw a lot of texture packs at an older game like this, just so it compares favorably to the current games I am playing.

So, going back to Vanilla would be mostly removing pretty graphics and not much else.

I've gone back to vanilla (excepting graphics packs and bug fixes) and it was remarkably refreshing after years of modded play.

I never got into vanilla Oblivion in the first place, I did two questlines and left. Never even finished the MQ Afterwards I installed some mods and, to my own surprise, enjoyed the game much more.

But if you liked vanilla, I think it might be refreshing to play it once in a while. I sometimes come back to vanilla Morrowind and relive my memories
I wouldn't get rid of the Unofficial Patch, though. Graphics and mechanics are one thing, but the bugs can cripple your game and I really think fixing them is necessary.

Even though I recently completed (yet another) FCOM installation, I've been considering playing a character on my Ps3 copy just to get the hang of Oblivion again. The vanilla game certainly has a level of simplicity and uniformity that is welcome.

I just deleted my entire Oblivion install, and decided to play Nehrim. To do that, I installed Oblivion from scratch.

While testing to see if that went OK, I played the tutorial, and much to my surprise, I enjoyed playing the game as it was shipped (at least for the tutorial). The textures were not bad, and the game was smooth (not lagging). Hell, I even found the clunky interface a nice change from using DarkDarnUI over the past 3 years!

That said, I am not sure if I could play too long with a vanilla install. Too many annoyances, once you have known ways to circumvent them...

Yes, I have. After all, I played Oblivion on the 360 for a long time before moving over to playing it on the PC and modded to hell and back. Going back and playing it on the 360 again was actually really fun for me, and reminded me of why I liked the original game enough to want to mod it just for fun.

I don't go nuts on mods, but I can't play without them. I have a vanilla install that I use for testing and it drives me crazy. For me it's the interface and convenience mods I miss. But other than those, I can play "almost vanilla" just fine.

It's funny because people go on and on about how bad the UI and yet all that's wrong with it is that the font is too large.

Not me. I've never thought of going back to vanilla and doubt I ever will. There are some vanilla parts of the game I have never felt the need to mod however. Vanilla lock picking and persuasion, for example, have never annoyed me like they do many players.

what do you mean by "busy"?

No interest in going back to vanilla. There are the type of mods I like:

Utility mods. I'm not going to do without a buy all/buy one-at-a-click mod, or hotkey mod that lets me switch out all my gear with a single key.

Quest mods. I'll play the game's quests, but I find them for the most part dull, and geared to ten-year-olds; and I've never liked games that forced you down foolish paths (with bad popups, yet) in order to get a certain result. Much prefer the more intelligent quest mods, out there.

Companion mods. Vilja, Stoker, Viconia. Nothing approaches these in the game.

Reworked magic systems.

More interesting house mods. I'm not about to give up Tchos' Tower mod.

My own mannequin mod! As I like adding weapons and armors to the game, I'll display the booty I've collected over time.

Each to their own. This isn't meant as a criticism of anybody else's taste. It's simply mine own. Oblivion's a great sandbox, but with these mods, it becomes a great game.

Essentially, I mean that it's easy to add a high quantity of modded materials without really adding to the quality of the gaming experience. For example, a lot of people like the big major mods - MMM, OOO, FCOM, Lost Spires, Ruined Tail's Tale, LAME, Ayleid Steps...
Individually, those all do add a lot of good content to the game. But I, and I'm willing to better others as well, often make the mistake of trying to add too much; and when you try to add that much stuff, not only are you constantly fighting to maintain stability and performance (or spending half your time rebuilding your Bashed Patch, etc.), but by going in 50 different directions at the same time your version of Modblivion loses a lot of its original flavor.

Or, to extend the "vanilla Oblivion" metaphor...I'd take vanilla over vanilla+chocolate+strawberry+mint+coffee+peanut butter+rocky road+butterscotch any day...

oh I see what you mean, I do agree that by adding many mods by many different authors you're bringing different designs and visions to the game, each with their own twist and flair.

and they will never blend with each other perfectly . a vanilla game feels much more consistent with itself.

but the vanilla game gets boring quickly :/