Well, after getting the Skyrim: Legendary Edition, I'm starting to see some changes in Marie Motierre. In short, after adopting two children and spending some time with her spouse in Whiterun, she suddenly turned into a werewolf and massacred Whiterun and Riverwood. Then she attempted to build a house near Pinewatch, failed, and now has a small, humble abode near Dawnstar, all by herself. She has effectively abandoned Whiterun and her family. Needless to say, I did not plan for this to happen, it just happened and I went on with it.

So, did any of your characters ever take a path you least expected? For good or worse? Share your stories!

How is that even possible if you're the one making the decisions. You almost talk as if your character were an actual living, independant being.

Plenty of times, though mostly its the actual game making the decisions for me instead of my character.

"Oh, what's that? You don't care that you might be Dragonborn and you just want to study magic? Well, lets make J'zargo's Flame Cloak spells hit allies in combat, accidentally hit a guard, make them not accept your yield and then turn the entire college against you as you seek shelter from police brutality!"
Granted, I would have made him become dragonborn eventually, but it wasn't the way I was planning it. (It was much better!)

Then there's his little fling with Roggi that was meant to end in marriage after a year of courting. After several adventures together, it eventually got to the point where they were both brought near death in battle repeatedly and I eventually decided that it would drastically affect the relationship. I mean, what sane person with poor combat skills will stay with a doom magnet that can barely protect himself, let alone both of them?

The Civil War happened after that, and I was planning on not doing it with my 'canon' character.

That's what roleplaying is all about.

People put a lot of thought into their characters, into the motivations behind that character's actions. Certain courses of actions feel right and some feel wrong for that specific character as a consequence of this. Certain courses of action that the player wasn't initially interested in might turn out to fit their character perfectly, surprising the player. I never considered the Thieves' Guild for the evil Demeter in the beginning, she isn't a thief - but she loves causing trouble...

Not exactly. It's about having your character be whatever kind of person you want. Like writing a story.

Pretending that he/she is independant from your decision making is an unnecessary level of crazy.

Woah there! I think for the sake of the post, the OP was talking although their character had made those choices.

One of My Hybrids is Saved in Markarth after deciding to help a Vigilant explore a House, and will likely end up assisting a Breton cleanse and sanctify a Daedric Shrine. The character was led down the path after being cured of a disease by another Vigilant. The Road to Necromancy is just a few Perks in the Conjuration Skill Tree, Skyrim needs a Potema to reunite Her

Playing a character that has gone down a darker path than intended is part of the fun of a TES Game.

I will probably abandon the character after Namira, or go fully down the Dark Side with this character, as far as the remaining Daedric Quests.