Claim: magical creatures don't really mean much in Morrowind and Oblivion because you see them everywhere you go. Frost Atronachs can be found wandering around outside of Molag Mar-- or in the sewers. Where do they come from? Spriggans litter the plains of Solstheim: why are they so suicidal, and why are there more spriggans in the world than humans? None of it makes any sense at all. Magical creatures have not received the attention that they deserve in past Elderscrolls games. This sounds somewhat silly less than a year before the game is released, but I'll say it because modders are truly amazing people and hopefully there's somebody more talented than I am who will agree with me by the time the game is released. If Bethesda is ahead of me and is already doing something along the lines of what I am about to suggest, then that's great. But if not, then hopefully I'll have something planned out when the creation kit comes out. Here's what I think:
It would be more interesting if Magical Creatures became part of the game mechanics rather than target practice. For instance, to consider one of my above examples, imagine the possibilities of how Spriggans could be made more interesting:
firstly, remove all superfluous spriggans in the game world. When there are a manageable number left, give them some dialogue and some political motivations: they'll help you out (i.e. answer plot-related questions and help you in fights if you know conjuration) if you help them out. Now, add another magical creature perhaps with contrary motives to the Spriggan, such as a dremora, werewolf, draugr, etc. Give them individual motives too, and the ability to engage in conversation or help you out when you're in a pinch. More creatures can be added as needed to increase the volatility of the political atmosphere to the extent where getting on the wrong side of some creature is inevitable. Adding books to make the monsters famous would be cool too.

Now the problem becomes this: if all the magical creatures are condensed into a more interesting form, how am I supposed to find something to fight?
Well, one of the things that I find intriguing is the prospect of civil war in Skyrim over the course of the game. Instead of fighting countless hordes of imps, you could instead fight against enemy soldiers which would be far more interesting anyways: it's hard to duel strategically against a Steam Centurion. Moreover, in such a volatile political environment there might actually be a use for speechcraft and sneak (maybe as joint skills) as a spy or advocate for a particular faction. Thoughts?

EDIT: not to overly anticipate the release of this game, but I think the modular aspect of elderscrolls games is one of the strongest features, and I like to think that dramatic changes in the game can be made with a little bit of creativity (sorry if I sound unrealistic).

I think some mythical creatures in the game should be more intelligent, such as trolls, goblins, spriggans etc., but really we should still have a sizable amount to slay. :toughninja: