I love both the Fallout and TES series. My big issue is as follows:

I bought Fallout: New Vegas months ago but never got around to completing it. I bought Skyrim a week ago and actually completed the main quest. My issue is that I honestly remember enjoying New Vegas more, but now when I pick it up I get bored before even leaving Goodsprings and can't push through to actually get to the part of the game I enjoy (New Vegas, NCR quests, Novac, etc) so my more recent memories of New Vegas consist solely of wishing that I didn't have to listen to Doc Mitchell (bless him) blabber about how hard it was to sew my head back together, and wishing that the tutorial quest had been a little more exciting (although I will say it was far more engaging than the Fallout 3 "Sims" tutorial, which I thoroughly despised despite loving the rest of the game).

I think what I'm trying to say is that New Vegas is the obviously superior game (if Skyrim had been more like Morrowind in terms of lore and depth, then I wouldn't be saying that) but that Skyrim has a better flow. Sure, the beginning cart ride got tiring after seeing it three or so times, but the tutorial drops you right into the action with enemies you actually enjoy fighting (Imperials/Stormcloaks). The Skyrim tutorial doesn't feel so much like a tutorial... more like an extension of the main quest. The New Vegas tutorial feels so separate from the main game that I almost wished that New Vegas had forgone the tutorial entirely and given me optional tutorial videos or something to watch instead. Or, if they were going for immersion (which I'm sure they were), that the NV tutorial had been more connected to the main storyline (beyond the reference to the courier package from Mitchell, and meeting Victor, the Creepy-Friendly Robot Buddy) and more engaging.

I'm going to try to hurl myself through the tutorial today so I can go back to doing what I actually enjoy doing - acquiring companions, doing dirty work for NCR, and pissing off Caesar. Oh, and finishing the DLCs that I just bought (except for Dead Money - hated that DLC's change of pace).

So, what's your opinion? Do you think the NV tutorial or the Skyrim (if you've played it) tutorial was more engaging? Am I simply whining?

NV's tutorial was a lot quicker. The start is usually slow anyways. I thought it was slow when I started, but now that I'm level 46 and about to start Lonesome Road, it's been quite a journey.

Really? I always felt the opposite. Maybe its just because NV's atmosphere is a whole lot more relaxed at the beginning (vs. Skyrim, where the pace is set at frantic, then gradually relaxes as the tutorial ends), so I feel a bit more bored until the tutorial ends, which is when the pace picks up.

I enjoy NV's tutorial but it gets to be a bit slow after an abundance of characters. Skyrim and Fallout 3 made me feel pressured to gtfo and do stuff. In some cases that is fine with me.

If by the NV tutorial, you mean the Sunny Smiles stuff, you can opt to skip most of it, after shooting up the bottles (or after the first batch of geckos? I forget). You can skip the Battle of Goodsprings too, if you want, and just take off and do your own thing. Or if on the PC, there are plenty of downloadable public savegame files that create a character for you and complete all the tutorials for you too, then drop you off right at the point of leaving the area and getting the "Do you want to change anything about your character now before continuing?" point, so you can tweak anything about your char you want before starting out.

I enjoy NV's the tutorial as well, and sometimes I stay in Goodsprings even after I've done all the tutorial quests. I hated Fallout 3's "tutorial," it was more like "everyone is trying to kill you get out NOW!"

OP: You can skip the tutorial completely once you shoot the bottles with Sunny Smiles.