Do you think the empire gets a fair chance to make it's case for why it should remain in power? Aside from the [optional] gathering at the throat of the world, where both parties do little more than argue with each other, I don't see many opportunities for the empire to make it's case to the dragonborn.

In contrast, I think the stormcloak rebellion gets a greater chance to make it's case since its end goals are echoed amongst nords in a positive manner almost anywhere you go in Skyrim. It's also hard to argue that Ulfric supporters are wrong when the Thalmor impose their own laws by intimidating an already weak empire.

What say you?

Either way in the next game. Its pretty much a win, win situation for the Thalmor. Storm Cloaks win, the Thalmor take Skyrim because the Nords don't have an established government and the Thalmor won't tolerate King Ulfric as a High King. They even want the Storm Cloaks to win because after the Storm Cloaks win, and they are a small band of rebels. The Thalmor can just come in and mop the rest of them up and be declared winner. Plus the Thalmor have an Embassy already set up and are just waiting.

If The Empire wins.....the Thalmor still win since the Empire is already under their thumb. For what ever reasons why the Thalmor didn't invade is because of the civil war. But they did say that the Next Great War is inevitable even with all the countries or providences in a mess.

Either way, we'll be seeing the Thalmor in the next few games. I honestly think the Empire is done and I think Bethesda wants to show us a world where the Elves have a powerful Empire of their own.

Its good to see change come and go. But as much as I wanted the Empire to recover, I don't see them winning the next war with the Thalmor since they lost the first war and signed off their rights on the White - Gold Concordat. I know everyone is against the Thalmor and would like to see a TES world without them, but maybe we'll see them fall in the next few games.

Skyrim wouldn't make a viable target to attack for the Dominion. Though the Empire might invade if skyrim becomes independent, there is even a note in a fort that if you capture for the stormcloaks or gave Falkreath to the Stormcloaks during Seasons Unending it states that there might be a large imperial legion force building up on the other side of Pale Pass and once the avalanche there is cleared it would open the way for the Legion to retake skyim's small force.

The fourth era seems in general to be humanity's fall from dominance and the rise of an elven super power.