Hey guys I was wondering, what is the best way to experience tes games. I was never able to beat oblivion. I mean the big issue for me was there was so much freedom. I just didn't know how to tackle the situation.
I really want to play skyrim, what is the best approach to take for a massive game like this?

Play it the way you want. There is no right or wrong way to play a TES game, really.

The motto of the TES games, as said by Todd Howard, has always been "Live another life, in another world". So go and do just that. Think up a character and a role you would like to play in Skyrim or any TES game, and play it. Evil Knight to Holy Assassin, or the generic Holy Paladin, you can ply as whatever you want and however you want (especially on the PC :tongue:) and that's the beauty of it. It doesn't matter that you were never able to "beat" Oblivion, because TES games are never truly "beat" anyway, and if you don't want to "beat" it, you're not playing it wrong either!

^ This

I agree with Indalus but if you have a problem with getting side tracked and want to experience the whole story of a TES game, try making one character that is your main character and play how you want and explore and get side tracked. Then have a second character that will just rush the main story line. That way you can have your cake and eat it too.

Enjoy the world of the game. Go where you want, explore, collect things, have adventures in dungeons or carry out different quests and quest lines. Main way is to do what you want and not to do anything you don't like. TES games have only one true quest: enjoy the game. If you have played it in the way you have enjoyed it you have beat it.

I agree.
TES games "also fo3" is all about having fun in the way that you wish, having a pc myself i get the "especially on the PC :tongue:)" quote.. hehe also that goes without saying for fo3 as well
ive finished oblivion many times over, its only hard to finish it because sometimes you dont know where to go next in order to follow the main quest, but i found it rather straightforward. its a great game especially one to play in the lead up to skyrim.

It's possible that the Elder Scrolls games just aren't the right games for you. There's nothing wrong with that. Different games are made for different people's tastes, just as books and music are designed to appeal to different tastes.

The fact that you use a word like "beat" in reference to Oblivion, and that you say "so much freedom" as though it were a drawback leads me to suspect that you might prefer more linear games. I'm guessing when I say this, of course. But "so much freedom" is precisely the thing that draws most of us to these games and keeps us here. It is probably the very last thing most of us would consider a problem. In fact, most of us are more likely to complain that the games do not give us enough freedom, lol. I know I'm guilty of that.

I echo the recommendation that you stick to the main quest. That may provide you with the structure you need.