The purpose of this is to try to figure out if there actually is a majority opinion on the subject.
There are plenty of threads on the subject already to make emotional appeals. Please post emotional appeals in those threads. Save this thread for logic, anolysis, and maybe a little conjecture on the "why" of Bethesda's decision.

First, defining terms:
Action In an action game, the actual player becomes more skilled in navigating the game world. For example, in 8 bit Zelda, a player could start a brand new character and nearly waltz straight to Gannon, but only if they had played the game a lot, and gained personal skill. After they get 2 or 3 crucial storyline progressing items, its all skill. I would say Zelda is Action because of that. To do a current action game in the TES style, you would need an incredibly deep combat system that forced the player to actually get better at playing in order to progress. Think fighting style like Soul Calibur, Texxen, etc...
Role Playing In a pure RPG, the player doesn't actually get better at "playing" the game. They invest time, that time invested makes their numbers get bigger on a stat sheet, and the stat sheet is the basis for mathmatical equations that say whether or not the character will win, how much damage they do, and so on. The player is role playing that they are improving their skill. They are not personally improving their skill. One of the purest RPG's I can think of is Nethack. There is almost no strategy and almost all RPG. To do a currewnt RPG in the TES style would be to go back to Morrowind's combat mechanics.
RPG/Action This is obviously a combo of the other two. The player improves skill and they also improves stats on a stat sheet. Technically, I would say that 99% of modern RPGs would fall into this category. So for the purpose of this thread, RPG/Action will be defined a ratio of at least 35/65 or better, in either direction. Any game that is 66% RPG, or better will be defined as RPG and any game that is 66% Action or better will be defined as action.
Sandbox In a sandbox game, there is no recognizable difficulty curve either by way or forcing the player to get better, or by forcing the player to roleplay that their character is getting better. These games are generally more like reading a book than they are like playing a game. They tend to be story driven. This type of game is a valid genre. That is not in question. What the question is is, is it a good fit for TES?