Elves/mer have cheekbones to die for.

Everyone knows the true test of imperialism is how well defined your master race's cheekbones are.

Aldmeris 1 humanity 0.

Lets put it this way Skyrim is the first game that has even got me considering letting Steam anywhere near my comp's hard drive.

Yes, that's the conclusion I finally came to. I don't like Steam, but decided I'd still like Skyrim. So I set up Steam to be as unobtrusive as possible, and got on with it.

I'm not sure I understand the complaints about PC appearance. To me, the faces of all the races in Skyrim fit very well with the art style of everything else. I'm of the opinion (and I know it's a minority opinion) that Bethesda has done a very good job in all of the last three games to keep the art styles consistent. Even the Oblivion "potato head" style fits really well with the style of the rest of the game, I think. TES games are not photorealistic at all; navigating TES "worlds" is like wandering around in a marvelous painting, to me.

I have two characters now, both women. Neither of them is a fashion model. My Nord is ruddy-complexioned, dirty, and with a nasty scar on her cheek. She's a fighter/hunter, and she looks like one. My Altmer mage is a character I played in Oblivion, and she's about 300 years old, so she has wrinkles, gray hair, and just generally looks like she's had a tough life. I'd rather have a character look like what they are.