Well I've been a really devoted fan since Morrowind, and this will be the first time since then that I will wait to purchase a copy of the newest ES game. I rented Skyrim for a few days, logged some hours, and I'm not at all impressed. I feel they may have made this overly vanilla to help dlc, or expansion pack sales, or they just got away from what makes ES so great. ES were original, yes they had elves and such, but broke away from the typical fantasy realm with the lore behind the games, Daedra, etc... Now we have a bland snow covered world, that feels like an Oblivion expansion pack, with, wait for it... Dragons, [censored], that's original, maybe in ES6 they'll have half sized people, carrying a ring of power to save the world. Despite the sell out factor, I know I'll eventually play the game and enjoy it to an extent, but do none of you see how boring the storyline is? Tell me you wouldn't kill for an Akavari invasion or something at this point? Anyhoo, I hope the next gen consoles will see a resurgence of this series, as this one is middle of the road.
Here's the problem, both Cyrodiil and Skyrim are human nations, Morrowind was a Dark Elf nation that had a lot of animals, plants, buildings, and well, inhabitants that looked very alien and different. Where as the human providinces, have a more familiar feel to them. Exploring 2 human nations back to back would make the series seem like they are getting further away from a a truly fantasy game. If the Elder Scrolls V took place in, say, Black Marsh, for me, the sense of wonder and curiosity would be so much greater than that of Cyrodiil or Skyrim. It would feel more fantasy. Skyrim is a great game, but if I were designing the game, not quite sure I would have went with the land of Skyrim.