I do enjoy the Elder Scrolls games, I've played all of the main games back to Arena, and even played a couple of the other titles. I'm not entirely sure about Bethesda as a developer though seeing as how they're a little... dumb. Forget about all of the bugs for a minute (or don't... because imagine an MMO with Bethesda-style QA)... they don't think things through, including one of the main focuses of their game.
I mean, they invest all of this effort into making an entirely persistent world. That's nice and all, the whole persistence thing, but they've made it too persistent. You walk into a shop and knock a bowl off the counter. Come back later and that will still be on the floor. Oh wow, you've effected the world! Cool. Thing is, because of wonky physics you WILL be knocking all kinds of things off counters, shelves, desks, tables... really, you're gonna knock a LOT of shit over, and it's ALL going to stay there. Over time you're going to completely fuck up the local merchant's store, his shit it going to be everywhere and he will never mutherfucking pick that shit up. Oh and don't even think about trying to put it back yourself because despite the fact that you're dressed head-to-toe in demon armor, carrying a six-foot sword sheathed in fire, and have arms like tree trunks and he's in trousers and an apron... you try to put his shit back where it was and that shop keep will try to stab you right in the eye. I guess he really, really, really likes your accidental redecorating skills and thinks his shit looks much better on the floor, and violently disagrees with anyone thinking otherwise. Oh, and of course if you steal people's shit they will never replace it. Never. There are a lot of perfectly reasonable responses to being robbed. Buying better locks. Getting a dog maybe. Buying a weapon to protect your home. Just saying, "Fuck it! Why bother!?" though and never replacing any of your possessions and forever living in an empty hovel is... dumb.
It's odd, the persistence is one of the main selling points of their game but they don't seem to have thought it through at all. Their much ballyhooed "Radiant AI" couldn't figure out, "Put shit back where it belongs, get new shit to replace old shit." That's pretty obvious, basic, straightforward stuff.
And that's one of the main selling points of a Bethesda game. Can you imagine this in an MMO? Where you have a server full of people effecting the world instead of just one clumsy, thieving asshole? There will be shit everywhere... forever! Well, not forever, because you know, eventually it will all get stolen then there will be shit nowhere... forever.
