There's a little known secret guild of fire starters that do just that called the Eternal Flame...they quietly keep the dungeons of Skyrim well lit for the draugr who dwell there that's why they don't attack them.

It bothers me a bit with the dungeons that haven't been accessed in hundreds of years still having well lit fires but this is a fantasy land so I chalk it up to magic. A magical spell keeps the torches and braziers lit

I thought it was the draugr that are afraid of the dark and can't sleep with lights off, so the get up every day to light the candles and then go back to sleep.

Where does the Dhovakiin go to sign up - sounds like a great way to enjoy retirement.

they're useless because of candlelight

What if your character isn't a mage?

Then the dungeon is already lit for you! Hurray for the Draugr having concern of the Dragonborn's fear of darkness. Even then though, Candlelight is about as easy of a spell to cast for anyone with low magic (5 points of magic for 60 seconds of light).

While that is very true, I was speaking from a specialized character viewpoint.

I actually had no clue torches had a time limit, I guess I just always put them away before they expired.

It is funny that in both TES and Fallout there are caves and old buildings/vaults which no one has been in for thousands or in Falls case- hundreds of years where there are still torches burning and lights hiked up to generators that are still running. I always just attributed it to a lone 90 year old care taker who goes around keeping these places in order until someone comes and screws everything up.

I imagine he moves quite slowly while muttering nonsense to himself.