I certainly didn't mean to imply that he was an idiot. Obviously he was the brainiest of all the Tribunal, in many ways.
I only meant to imply that reading his silence as an indication that his body was merely a husk diminishes his character. Not his intelligence, his character. And, considering Sotha Sil was the one who braved Oblivion and the Princes of Misrule to make the pact that prevented regular folk from summoning them, and considering he is stated as loving the Dunmer the most of all the Tribunal, he obviously has a lot of character. It cheapens the moment of his death by making it non-death.
From a literary perspective, anyway.
We're all obviously free to believe what we choose about Sotha Sil's last moments; however, I am fairly certain we will not hear from Seht again.
How would that diminish his character? It was intentional on his part. As you folks have stated before, he knew what was coming with the nerevarine prophecy and likely knew of Almalexia's madness ahead of time. Let the world believe me dead, I shall continue to shape its imperfections,
because I love them.
I never said we'd hear from him again, in fact I pretty much stated he can't communicate with us anymore, he no longer has the means. He's still shaping the world though, or his mind isn't able to handle the new "body" after the severance of the heart.
Seriously all you've done is said he was killed by Almalexia despite several oddities conflicting with the statement. No one addresses the fingernails/atrophy/computer consoles/wiring, because they can't come up with an actual explanation or refutation. If he died, it was before Almalexia got there. Even Azura thought he shed his mortality long ago, despite being a manipulative *ahem*, it's an interesting way of putting it. Sure says a lot about his character if he gave up on life. It cheapens the actions of his life.
His Clock-Work city was a failure,
[citation needed]like the Tribunal and their Temple were failures.
I wouldn't consider them a failure. Almalexia may have had no idea what it was really about, but Vivec and Sil both understood its purpose and served it well. They were guides, not rulers.