Kill Delphine and tell Ersbern that she tripped and fell off sky haven temple

I'd first let a Dragon eat Delphine and attempt to 'rescue' her, and then attempt to take over the Reach by eliminating the Forsworn, and ending the Silver bloods hold on Markarth, of course, that would require the support of the working class of Markarth, to recruit Guards into the Blades to create a stronger force to destroy the Penitus Occulus outpost, and kill Tullius, and Ulfric, creating the *People's*Republic*of*Skyrim*

The first thought that comes to mind is I'd tell Delphine and Esbern that they are free to rebuild the Blades and combat the dragon menace, provided they are careful not to engage in fanaticism or harm Skyrim or those who live there without malice to one another--in which case, they will answer to the Dragonborn. They will also be required to work with the Greybeards and, yes, Paarthurnax towards this end. If they refuse, they will be exiled--if they refuse exile, they will be executed.

Just off the top of my head.

I rarely have anything to do with them past getting the Horn back from Delphine, but on my few characters who have completed the main quest I would do the following:

1) Delphine would have a little..."accident" at some point, news of which would, conveniently enough, never reach Esbern

2) I would take Esbern up to meet Paarthurnax, in order to try to convince him that the killing he wants me to perform would be a complete waste

3) If successful, Esbern would be set to starting the restoration of Skyhaven Temple and recruitment would commence, with the intent of rebuilding the Blades in their 'special ops' capacity

4) If unsuccessful, I would have nothing more to do with either Esbern or the Blades, and would leave him to fend for himself in the temple

First, I'd get rid of Delphine, because she's annoying. Then, I'd try to convince Esbern to change his mind about killing Paarthurnax. If he refused, I would gut him and allow the blades to become extinct.

Aren't the Blades still around because there are players who want to be a Blade or something like that? Or is Bethesda paying homage to Oblivion by having the Blades have a small role in Skyrim?

They're the Last Dragonborn because the need for a Dragonborn has been obviated.

Ignore them, just like some of the quests that get "dumped" on your character by random encounters IF your characters story is not inclined to participate with them. Just because a group or some quests are in the game, doesn't mean your characters have to react to them..

Its all in the power of choice!

The only reason why the Thalmor hunted down the Blades is because they worshipped Talos. The Thalmor made the White- Gold Concordat which legislation was the outlawing of the worshiping of Talos, disbandment of the Blades and giving free reign to the Thalmor to move throughout the Empire and to hunt down any worshipers of Talos, and the slaughtering of the last of the Blades.

If I were Delphine or Esbern, I would have fled Skyrim to a country that wasn't under Thalmor Law or Jurisdiction. They just put a huge target on their back trying to restore the Blades and even if Ulfric won, he wouldn't have had enough men or the resources to fight off a Thalmor invasion, considering they have many countries united under their control, the Aldmeri Dominion wants to unify the Provinces, in a way they've become a super power since they have a foot over the Empire now. To defeat the Empire shows they are forced not to be messed with. Even if Ulfric defeated the Empire and had Skyrim in the palm of his hand. The Thalmor would have taken it. It's better off in the hands of the Empire because of the White - Gold Concordat. The Empire has an advantage because of its political stand point with the Aldmeri Dominion. Ulfric and his rebellion does not. If Ulfric won, it'd just be another excuse for the Thalmor to kill more people and order the Empire to bring in more Imperial Soldiers to occupy Skyrim. Than the Empire and the Thalmor would have still won.

Thats the worst decision that was made in the game was helping Delphine irritate the Thalmor. It made the Thalmor believe that the Dragonborn was a Blades agent when he/ she clearly was not.

I would kill Delphine and Esbern. Tamriel is better off without them at this point. The Blades served their purpose a long time ago when the Martin and Uriel died. Sometimes things are better off gone. All Esbern and Delpine did was try to take credit over the Dragonborn. They aren't even Blades anymore, its a dead organization and the Thalmor will eventually catch up to them no matter how many people they recruit.

I thought Delphine explained that the Blades got targeted by the Thalmor because, while the Blades were waiting for a Dragonborn or another reason to exist, they recognized the danger the Thalmor posed and started covertly working against them. With the past experience of the Blades at spying/related skills, they were effective, although if it came to flat out battle, the Blades lost. The Talos thing might enter into it, but it was more that they were simply fighting back.

An Aldmeri ambassador delivering the head of every Blades agent in Summerset and Valenwood to the emperor Titus Mede II started the Great War. After that, the Thalmor hunted down any and every Blade agent they could.

The White- Gold Concordat was long issued after the Blades were wiped from the map. The treaty itself gave the Thalmor full control over the Empire and the other Provinces. It was only signed because the Emperor didn't want the Empire destroyed. So the Blades and many things became a minority and he let the Thalmor have the last word. He gave up everything when he signed it. Titus Mede II and the Empire is under the Thalmor's complete control. The treaty itself gave the Thalmor an excuse to do what ever they wanted. Even torturing and killing Talos worshipers for fun even after the war was long over.

White-Gold Concordat :

" The White-Gold Concordat was a treaty signed in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Fourth_Era#4E_175 between the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Empire and the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Aldmeri_Dominion that ended the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Great_War. The conditions of the treaty outlawed the worship of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Talos in the Empire, formally disbanded http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Blades, and delivered a large portion of southern http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Hammerfell into the control of the Aldmeri Dominion. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Emperor_Titus_Mede_II made these concessions to the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Thalmor hierarchy in order to give the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Imperial_Legion time to recover its strength, as it had been decimated in the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Great_War.

The http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Redguard of Hammerfell, however, refused to accept the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, and continued to resist the Thalmor. This forced Titus Mede to officially renounce Hammerfell as a province of the Empire in order to preserve the peace stipulated in the treaty. Viewing this as a betrayal, Hammerfell became an independent state, and managed to fight the Dominion to a standstill, culminating in the signing of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Second_Treaty_of_Stros_M%27Kai five years later in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Fourth_Era#4E_180, which stipulated that all Aldmeri forces withdraw from Hammerfell. Hammerfell thus became an independent, if devastated, nation. Diplomatic relations between Hammerfell and the Empire remain strained, an outcome that Legate Justianus Quintius postulates was a long-term goal of the Thalmor.

Specifically, the ban enforced regarding the worship of Talos greatly angered the people of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Skyrim. Talos originated from Skyrim and has been a beloved deity of the people of Skyrim for generations. The http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Stormcloak_Rebellion began when http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ulfric_Stormcloak and his men, despite being promised otherwise during the Markarth Incident, were unable to continue worshipping Talos as they had always done, and this continues to be a major issue in the dispute."

I would take the blades and wage a war against the greybeards. After i had shouted their corpses off the mountain, i would take it over as my palace. I would raise the greybeards up from the dead and have them be my eternal butlers and guards. The blades i would then train not only to be killing machines but also to retrain them in the art of spying. They would be my eyes and ears as they go from town to town, country to country slaying dragons but watching out and keeping info for me. They would let me know of dangers to skyrim and also of powerful foes for me to test my might against. Not only would they be envolved in slaying dragons but woukd also learn and teach how to shout. To go along with dragonslaying, they would also gather info and expenses from schools set up to teach how to shout.
i would spread my influence over the land

I would tell the blades go screw themselves if i could and not kill paarthunax. like they think they can order around the Dragonborn. pssh

Rebuild them properly...

Bring back the honor and focus they lost over the years... balanced by wisdom and understanding.

Maybe let them still work as a spy network, but one that tracks down threats to all of the world and help eliminate them (aka rogue dragons, mages, daedric intrigues, etc)

But first they'd have to be slapped for trying to get me to kill the one dragon that is trying to seek redemption for the past misdeeds...