Saw another post about playing just an "average joe" with a job at the lumber mill etc. Somebody made a comment about the Dragonborn being a little forced.

Wondering if another option would be just a dungeon delver/money maker and just bypass the main quest completely. Even if you go far enough to unlock the dragons then those are just mobs you are killing if you don't unlock the shouts. Anyone doing this route?

You can. After you create your character just run off and do whatever. Nothing is forced on you, only the intro is.

Yeah you can do whatever you want. It's not like Witcher 2 where you are pretty much forced to follow a linear path.

The first thing I did after I got out of Helgen was head straight over to Riften. My character doesn't care a thing about any of this "Dragonborn" nonsense.

So far I've avoided the main quest entirely. All I've done is the destroyed town, then Rivenwood, then Whiterun. I figured I told the Jarl of Whiterun that dragons were out and about and I was done doing my duty and onto my own life, free of dragons.

It may slowly creep back into my life though. My character keeps finding these wierd word walls that for some unknown reason he can read. Before he gets too carried away though, he'll probably put a stop to this silly Civil war that's been going on. He just needs to pick a side.

So, so far, I've been completely avoiding the main quest. I'm hoping I'll be able to save it for last for my main character. It's been a ton of fun not doing the main quest but exploring everything else.