There are alot of people who don't see Skyrim as being all about dragons and dragon shouts. While those things may be more important in relation to the main quest, some people see them as being just another thing added to the game. Not trying to be argumentative in any way of course, just trying to give people an alternate point of view since many don't seem to get why others don't share their enthusiasm for "Fus Ro Dah!" lol

Its like saying Oblivion Gates were the quintessential aspect of Oblivion, its in the title, but how much time did people spend in Oblivion in comparison to the time they spent just doing what they wanted to?

Gosh I havent even thought my character out yet....man...here goes another 6 months of my life given to the alter of Bethesda....

Im totally going to use them from the very start of the game.

screaming at rabbits until they turn into ice cubes...
LolWut

IM IN!!!!!!

I am really not jazzed about the whole Dragonborn concept, and it seems to tie in horribly with making the character you want to make.

Warrior! Swords, heavy armor, flying, ice breath, x-ray vision, heat vision, bulletproof.

Mage! Fireballs, conjure daedra, flying, ice breath, x-ray vision, heat vision, bulletproof.

Thief! Stealth, lockpicking, flying, ice breath, x-ray vision, heat vision, bulletproof.

Eh.

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That said, I do plan to use the shouts as makes sense when/if I am doing the main quest. If my cowardly spy character finds magic words on a wall that give her eXtreme power and dragons start flying at her and breathing fire, it makes sense for her to use the new eXtreme powers to fight the dragons even if her career up to that point was totally different.

I'm not planning to pursue the main quest very hard with any of my characters though - again, unless it makes good RP sense that they would.

I have been wanting to play as a user of the "Voice" ever since I read about them in the lore books of TES III. So, to answer your question... I will definitely use them.

I will play a Nordic Thu'um warrior and use the dragon shouts alot.

Well whether you like it or not Dovahkiin is not normal so i definately going to use them, can't wait in fact.

Dragon shouts = variation without having to change class. I love variation.

Unless you mean your not going to use magic armor or weapons or no magic at all, there is no regular person in this game. Kinda like being a little bit pregnant. I just dont see the difference between shouts and using a sword that has magical properties. And it also seems that the designers prolly designed some encounters that cannot be beat unless you use some form of shout. But I admit Im new to this series and still learning about it. But in my own opinion, as soon as cast a spell, use a potion that gives you abilities you normally would not have or use magical armor or weapons, then you lose the regular guy playthorugh.