Seriously one bandit gang is strong enough to rival a jarl's city and theres like dozens of bandit organization scatter across skyrim.

Solution
1. The jarl of each city should hire at least triple its guards.
2. Increase the patrol size of imperials and stormcloaks by 8.
3. Increase the amount of mounted guards

We need more Cyrodiil guards. That "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM" will stop any bandit in his tracks.

I'd like to see an increase in guards outside of the city. How about a guild of guards that only occupy the outside of the main cities?

Like a highway patrol sort of thing going on? I would be all in favor for that.

When I'm playing a low level character, I always try to run to the guards when being chased by a dragon...so yes, there should be a lot more. Fighting a dragon along with guards is always fun.

http://img148.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=73294_RiftenGuardWTFshouting_122_127lo.jpg

Heh, but yes there should be more of a guard presence in all the various holds in the game. Even some minimal patrolling would give you the illusion that the various hold governments are actually in control of their territory. As it is, you'd think there was a huge bandit and general evil-doer consortium in control of Skyrim given the complete lawlessness of the land outside of the cities.

This.

Actually, I have an even better idea. We should simply clone Wes Johnson (for the uninformed, thats the Voice Actor for Oblivion Guards), and just assign gear/posts to them throughout Skyrim. The amount of amazing voice acting will own the criminals SO HARD, that their progeny will hear his voice in their dreams.

I'd like more patrolling guards, but in terms of city guards, I think we're well defended!

If each Hold is independent then each should have enough guards to rival an army capable of waging war, not simply holding a position. The 5 biguns anyway.

The Legions and Cloaks should increase their ranks as well. The Battle of Whiterun is incredibly underwhelming. A dozen Cloaks take a city? Puhlease

Guards should also be more powerful, not just more numerous. At the end of the day, city guards in medieval times were the equivalent of today's military. Skyrim is overwhelmingly biased to lawlessness, if this was real life... then all the holds would have been overrun by the end of the first week in game.

Guards more powerful?
You must be joking...

Wait ... is he trying to arrest you because you're absorbing a dragon's soul?

No, that guard is warning him about using his shouts in public, I believe

Why would you think I am joking? Bandits massively overpower guards in this game when in reality that was very rarely the case. Additionally, have you ever gone up the against them yourself? It is way too easy to kill every guard in a city.

I wouldn't mind seeing more guards, but also some variation in the guards. Not to bring up MW again, but I loved how at a certain level, you might be able to take on a guard; but you wouldn't think of going near an ordinator. And then in Tribunal, the hands were like meag-ordinators.

My sense of it is that even the imperial bodyguard aren't actually that much tougher than the local guards in Skyrim. I don't know that for a fact though - could be wrong.

In an ideal world, I suppose, the guards out in places like Iverstead would be weaker, and perhaps more open to bribery than the ones in the cities; and the ones in Solitude and Windhelm would be the toughest. Or in Riften, the guards would be more open to "looking the other way."

I just want to know why every Jarl in the entire land decided to have matching power ranger style outfits for their guards... You'd think the ones in Solitude and Windhelm would at least have unique outfits, I doubt Ulfric would want his men dressing like the rest of the milk drinkers.

Because they already own dragons/blood dragons, bears, frost trolls...
I've tried to kill them in Solitude and killed them all @lvl 48, and that's how it should be...I'm the Dragonborn, they're just trained humans in guard outfit...
More guards?Yes, expecially outside the city areas and patrolling the lands of Skyrim
More powerful?No thanks

I disagree on the increase in guard numbers in squads (not in distribution) and an increase in guards' power.

I just think they need a better AI governing them than the bandits who are by their own inclinations undisciplined ruffians and thugs. The guards should be uber co-ordinated and should by able to respond to incursions with tactics that make them more effective fighters even against a stronger opponent. That is, they should work in teams to bring down their enemy rather than as individual units.

i like to see more people, city looks like desolated... Winterhold is too small... i don't need more people with personality but only "more people"...

Heh, yep that's it exactly. Was at the tail end of a fight with an Elder Dragon that spawned when I left the south gate of Riften. Fight went all over the valley to the east of the city, drawing in some necromancers, a few trolls and frostbite spiders and in the end the Riften City Guard that is on the outside of the north gate to the city near the towers. I hit Unrelenting Force right as the dragon died and one of the guards walked up to me and gave me his "don't shout in the city limits" speech while I was in the middle of absorbing the soul. Rather amusing, glad I was quick with the screenshot button on that one.

I think they need more NPCs altogether.