I agree that Skyrim's linear dungeons were disappointing. The player/NPC dialogue is practically non-existent (Fetch this for me? Okay, I'll do it.). The game goes out of balance far too quickly and easily - weapons do too much damage, armor is uber powerful, money and loot are far too plentiful. The game is challenging up to about level 25-30 and then becomes tedious, repetitious and boring. I can take down ancient dragons with three arrows and the biggest bosses with two swings of my blade and everything else with a single hit. That makes the 'fun' of smithing, enchanting and alchemy useless at higher levels - there is no point after a point.
On the positive side, the world is HUGE and the visual depth is amazing. You can mount horses and dragons, that's a cool improvement.
Overall, I have enjoyed Skyrim as much as FO3, but it does seem to be more about quantity than quality.
Interestingly, it's the same game engine as FO3, but with a modified scripting language.