So my performance issues were mostly fixed. The frame rate has vastly improved, yet I still get some drops and slight freezes here and there. It was on the verge of becoming unplayable, but the patch seems to have alleviated a lot of the trouble I was having. I hope performance doesn't deteriorate again as I log more hours.

But I can say that areas that used to turn into slide shows no longer do so. Thanks for the patch, Bethesda. There are some remaining issues and I hope those are addressed in time.