So I'm going along when suddenly, out of nowhere, wolves attack me. Just another day in Skyrim, right? So I'm swinging away, turn and WHAM, farmer.

Ooops.

The poor guy runs away, and I now have a bounty in Whiterun. Oh... dear. I'm trying to play a lawful character here. Better do the right thing and turn myself in. So I head to Whiterun, locate a guard, and go up to talk to him.

"You... I know you...."

Yes, I'm her to tur--- Wait... My only option is denial?



Well, I managed to go ahead and pay my fine like a good girl, but still... the only dialogue option I got was so out of character it was painful. Kind of wish we had more options for some conversation trees. I mean, what's the point of bringing up a window if we have nothing to choose from?

One thing I definitely miss from Oblivion is the leniency for friendly-fire. I shoot a fireball at a dragon that lands on the other side of the lake and I get a bounty due to collateral damage.

Oh, tell me about it. I had that happen with my first character. Beat the dragon, and suddenly...

"Oi, you're wanted"
"But... I didn't get caught!"

Being a good thief, I bribed my way out of it, but still... From then on, I didn't use my thu'um much unless i was alone in the middle of nowhere.

It's a bug. I had it happen after escaping the Cidhnah mine.

The situation mentioned in the OP is not a bug, it's an oversight.

The thing that annoys me is that, when the guard says 'I know you' the only way for him to arrest you is to speak to him, at that point he won't initiate dialogue. If you're initiating the dialogue with a guard who knows you're a criminal surely you'd at least have the option to admit?