As for kids, that's actually one of my worries. Kids in Fable were crap, and implementing something so drastic in a new game can be worrying. I'm really troubled that they'll be done horribly and it'll kill the game for me. However if they're done well, I mean, really well, it could add a great new dynamic to the game.
As for families; NO! That is just the wrong direction to go.
And as for my first character, now that's a good question.
Race: Nord, I'm ALWAYS a Nord, I love em (partially why I think Skyrim'll be awesome, its main inhabitants are Nords)
Gender: Male, I'm a guy, playing a female just seems... odd.
Class(I know there are no classes, but my general 'role'): I can't decide. I think it would be cool to be a mage Nord, and apparently spells are really cool in Skyrim. However I also wanna be a Nordic barbarian, I mean, c'mon, what's better than that?