I don't know about you guys, but I think that:
Like Daggerfall -> Battlespire, Skyrim has taken the linear way out on this one.
Redguard and Battlespire, the two Elderscrolls Legends that were made, are linear versions of TES open world.

Now don't get me wrong, Skyrim takes place in its entire province, which suggests open world... but look at all of the short comings of the previous RPG's.
Does anyone share my opinion on this?

When you reach Riverwood, you are a free man! Freedom unparalleled, similar to its predecessors Oblivion and Fallout 3. However, I assume you mean "linearity" in a deeper form, no? Quest wise and dialogue? I will agree there. Too much "Understood." and "Consider it done.", with no two ways to complete a quest. The RPGness comes down to how you kill a person(lightning bolt or just a bolt to the face) and which quests you take. That doesn't sound very RPGish to me. I miss the expansive dialogue of the Fallout universe. I don't know how they can go from picking 4 different replies to a generic "yes" or a " i dont know..."

This impacted my playing of Oblivion a tad bit, because once you beat the game, you have well, beat the game. Next up, different character style. It seems role playing is the only way to make it seem non- repetitive.

Good call.

Yes, I do mean in that fashion. Among other reasons as well.

I know we have the freedom to explore, but all of the quests, the character development, character creation, character moral decisions... etc are all very shallow.

Edit: lol nice sig Anthotis.

I think the over-all concept is fine with Skyrim, it's just the execution of the Lore and plot/quests is a pretty massive let down. I personally love the idea of Dragonborn saving and uniting the collapsing Tamriel (If we get the chance to)
But no I dont think we can put it on Redguard/Battlespire level.

Oblivion maybe...

It certainly looks closest in similarities to Oblivion, with higher polish and no depth. So I see your logic there, but it sacrificed Oblivion's RPG elements for arcade luster IMO.

It is not linear in that sense, because... well its a huge open and massive world waiting to be explored. But quest wise you are certainly not mistaken.

Its just like... they tried to take TES and turn it into HEXEN, which, actually sounds amazing on paper.

God I want HEXEN 3.