They call lycanthropy a curse, but its a curse you can ignore if you want - the only drawback is the no sleeping buff.
The Companion's lycanthropy is special (or it's just game mechanics, take your pick). Normal werewolves have to change once or twice a month, and are driven to hunt and kill people when changed. That's why people don't like them, as they don't want to be killed and eaten, and they're not going to stand around to first see whether you'll try to kill them or not; by the time they know, it'll be too late if they were wrong.
Why not make it an actual curse where you turn once a month (or twice - how does the lunar cycle work in TES?) and really have to live like an outcast - lose all your stuff etc, attack those around you and flee from those who would hunt you.
Bringing back the forced transformations and need to kill would be enough, IMO. You'd have to keep track of the date and time and make sure you're clear away from civilization when a full moon rises, so you don't end up changing in the middle of a city in full view of everyone who can identify you, and with a hunger to kill someone. If you don't kill and eat someone by the time you change back, you'd be very weak until you do.
In Daggerfall you'd occasionally get letters from Werewolf Hunters, warning that they'll kill you if you don't find a cure in a certain amount of time. If you don't get cured, they'd eventually show up to try to kill you.