For whatever reason, and with Fallout 4 in particular, I seem to have more fun playing Bethesda games in the post main quest game than I do in the pre main quest game. I don't know if it is the sense of urgency from the main quest that is finally lifted off of me or if I just enjoy making up my own list of oddball things to do and then going about it, but I'm pretty sure I play the post game many many hours over compared to how long it takes me to actually "beat" the game.

It seems especially odd that Fallout 4 holds this charm for me, due to how static the post main quest game world feels. You've eliminated at least a single faction if not two, and now you basically are just kicking the can down the road. The Minutemen make me feel like there is always something to do though (even if some of you hate that ha ha) and I always tear into building up my dream home when I get done. Then there is mourning my losses, trying to make life work with child Shaun, etc. I just like that.

Anyone else feel the same? What part of the game do you enjoy the most?

I kind of find the main quests irrelevant to my enjoyment of the game. In FO3 my dad is still standing outside the Purity station with his whole team waiting for me to clear out the rotunda.. and he's been there for a very long time while I do everything I want. Jauffre never quite got the Amulet of Kings from me, while the Greybeards must be wondering if I actually heard them shout. I guess finishing the main quest does have the benefit of unlocking things for you which you otherwise won't have access to, but by and large I found no real difference pre and post.

That's part of the reason why FO3 annoyed me so much - both the good-aligned companions were tied to the main quest and need to be unlocked.

I had already done pretty much everything there was to do on the map before I actually tackled the main story, so when it was over, I just hit up the new game option and rolled up another SS.

I seem to be enjoying the game a lot more after the main story and I've yet to really get into it again after I beat it the first time around. I enjoy making my own adventures so much more and as limited as the settlement building can be I've been wasting a lot of hours building settlements across the wasteland.

So like you I do find the game after the main story to be a lot more enjoyable but mainly because I find the main story to be one of the weakest parts of the game, and maybe one of the most uninventive questlines in the game. At least when looked at through a wider scope. There are still some great parts to the main story but I don't feel like there is enough of them to prop the whole thing up. Regardless this is just my personal opinion.

I do everything before I go to the Glowing Sea to find Virgil.

I know what you mean. With the main quest over, my character pretty much is just a retired millionare who builds his vast mansions all across the Commonwealth. At the beginning of the quest, I was a pre-war cry-baby who despereatly need to find his son, with no money, friends, or gear. Bethesda does a good job at really making your character feel like they age as the story goes on.