I just rose to Hlaalu Grandmaster and completed the third phase of Rethan Manor but find myself very disappointed. This is the first time in about 8 years that I played the Hlaalu faction. The personnel at Rethan Manor seem pretty shallow. Only one has any dialog options, and most seem to be just trainers. Indeed, one in the main house only offers training and will not buy anything I try to sell her. And my char had unoffically declared war on the Camonna Tong only to end up being in charge of it at the end. I admit that's because of poor dialog choices when I talked with O.D, but a deal's a deal even though my char does not trust him and would see him dead. That stings! Plus, it seems so contradictory to everything he had been told about the xenophobia of the C.T. that it's a disconnect.

In-game clues led to the C.T. places in Balmora, Hla Oad, Gnaar Mok, Vivec, the Orc north of Vivec and of course O.D. but not to two other bases UESP noted. So my guy didn't clear out those other places. Arggh!

The problem for me in RL is that my game is modded, and I don't know if the NPC behavior I see at Rethan Manor is intentional game content of the original game or is borked because of some unexpected mod compatibility. mlox did not note any problems with the load sequence. AFAICT, the sequence of events leading to me assuming control of House Hlaalu matches with the sequences listed at UESP Wiki.

Can someone tell me if the Rethan Manor personnel really do have such limited dialog options? And if the female merchant in the main house really won't buy anything? It is so disconcerting - if so, Bethesda should have just made her be a trainer instead of giving her a non-functioning barter option.

Thanks.

Just a follow-up. I chose to terminate that game and start a new character.

To naswer your question, yes. Rathen Manor is widely believed to be the worst stronghold of all three great houses. While the services there are alreight, and it has the most convenient location of the three, everybody agrees that it lacks any character whatsoever. It's just another generic Hlaalu house.

None of the Great House Strongholds have NPCs with decent dialogue options, if yours do, I assume you're running LGNPC or a mod which changes those strongholds.
You only get a manor and an egg mine, sure, but personally I don't care about strongholds in the slightest. Hlaalu has the best quests IMO, so nah, I didn't find achieving Grandmaster to be disappointing.

Yes, I do run the LGNPC mods and enjoyed the Redoran and Telvanni mods. The staff had character

I don't really care about strongholds either, but as long as they're there, they should add to the game enjoyment. Which is why I started a new game I think my new char will avoid any House affiliations this time. He's already joined the Mage Guild and might join the Imperial Cult. That's one faction whose quests seem to always give satisfaction.