Before I begin, for Gods' sake, people, don't let this turn into another argument thread. You know who you are, you repeat-offenders, despite warnings from Mods. Keep the petty arguments out, just tell me what you think of my take on the Civil War.
On my first playthrough of Skyrim, I decided to join the stormcloaks, because the Empire tried to kill me. I went through the entire Civil War, dead set on "Skyrim's for the Nords!" Eventually, me and Ulfric found ourselves in Solitude. We fought through the Imperial forces until we reached Tullius and Legate Rikke. Galmor Stone-Fist was busy with other Imperials, and I took on Rikke, while Tullius and Ulfric duked it out. When Ulfric overpowered Tullius, he stood over his adversary, who said "Ulfric you fool! We need Skyrim as much as Skyrim needs the Empire! We need to prepare for the Thalmor! There will be another war!" I stopped fighting then, and I cast a calm spell on Rikke.
I walked to Ulfric, waiting to see his response. And I was shocked to hear "That is a problem for another day..." As he went to kill Tullius, I stepped in and blocked the blow, but Galmor tackled me and Ulfric killed Tullius. I remember saying aloud to a friend who was with me that day "I think I helped the wrong one..."
So on my next playthrough, a whole year later, I went Imperial... and Dark Brotherhood (that is relevant). Again I went through the ranks, and through my conversations with Tullius, I could see that he had a good heart about Skyrim, and wanted to help its people, and Cyrodiil. I was close to finishing, when I did the entire Dark Brotherhood questline. SPOILER: When I assassinated the Emperor, I realized from Motierre, that the Empire was better without the false Mede Emperors, who surrendered with ease to the Thalmor, and (supposedly) have taken bribes of coin and false pretences. He was corrupted, to an extent. While he led humanity through the Great War, he bowed to the Thalmor to save his own skin (and his half-empire). He was the one who plunged Skyrim into chaos, not Ulfric. He aggravated Ulfric and half of Skyrim by selling Skyrim and Talos to the Thalmor. While Talos was not held in as high a regard as he was in Cyrodiil, he was the chief deity of Skyrim, the Human God.
But Tullius is not corrupt. Tullius believes in the Empire, the Empire before the Dominion, which was powerful, united, equal. He still fights for that, he fights for freedom from the Thalmor, as does Ulfric. Ulfric, however, is putting Cyrodiil in danger by splitting with the Empire, while Tullius is endangering Skyrim by letting the Thalmor act freely within it.
As for my personal stand on the war.
I believe in Tullius, not the Empire. The Empire is corrupted, crippled and a thing of the past. Tullius holds on to the belief of a united Tamriel, a stronger Tamriel. With this dream, he could defeat the Thalmor. Ulfric cares for Skyrim and her people, for his people. He wants the Thalmor out now, while Tullius wants to slowly prepare for the next war.
Ulfric is too eager to aggravate the Thalmor, while Tullius is being too cautious and letting their grip on Tamriel tighten.
Ultimately, I have to say that I would follow Tullius, but I would be lying to myself if I said I was Pro-Empire at heart. If only Tullius and Ulfric could see eye-to-eye. Together, they could defeat the Thalmor.
I think Tullius and the Skyrim Legion are good, as are the Stormcloaks. It has been proven that a province can last on its own, just look at Hammerfell. While damaged by the war, the resistance is still strong. But cannot last without help from the Legion and the Stormcloaks.
So ultimately, I'm balanced between the two, but I would have to say that Tullius is the more admirable leader to me.