First off, while this will, as a whole, sound like a complaint, I absolutely love the game thus far. It is the first game my wife has actually been interested in, so this is huge for me. But here are some negative things I noticed/observed....(PS3 version)

1. Slight freezing when accessing menus.
2. Shadows look very flickery. Almost all the time.
3. Animations are still very stiff. When you are talking to someone, unless you are riveted by what they are saying....it can be tough to pay attention because they dont really move.
4. Why in the world are the wild animals in Skyrim MUCH stronger than most enemies? (Oblivion was like this as well).
5. I absolutely hate how you cannot see your character from the menu. Checking out how you looked in new armor was one of the best things about Oblivion.
6. I hate how shields are listed among apparel. So when I want to equip a sword and shield I have to go to two separate menus?
7. I don't like how you cannot see your total defense as a result of your armor. Nor can you directly compare pieces. You just have to look, remember the number, and then figure out which is higher. Not a major gripe, but annoying still.
8. I hope and pray that combat doesn't get repetitive. There really isnt much strategy or skill involved. I'm not trying to make a plug for another gamer here, but Dark Souls is much better in combat. Much deeper. As a matter of fact, the skyrim character feels so stiff, he/she doesn't really have much of a "warrior" feel.
9. My initial impressions of the crafting system is that it is too involved. How am I supposed to remember how to create certain weapons and armor? (Maybe this will be more natural in time).

That pretty much sums up my issues. I am really looking forward to the hours I will spend in this world.

I notice a slight freezing when I'm accessing the Save menu. Not too bad, but noticeable. I'm on a PC.

It is a shame you can't see your character in the sub menus. A bizarre omission if I'm honest. And I have to agree with your consensus with regards to Dark Souls. The combat does seem to be somewhat lacking in Skyrim. Not by much, but it could definitely be better. Character interaction still leaves a lot to be desired as well. But like I said to a buddy earlier today, the net is cast far 'n wide with TES games so it's hard to expect Bethesda to perfect all avenues of pursuit.

Played more last night and had a blast. I walked up on some sort of ceremony (and was ceremoniously decimated for doing so). I also entered a cave where I was given a pretty awesome task. Dont want to spoil anything for anyone, but I am enjoying things more and more.

But I still DESPISE that you cannot see your character. I wonder if this can be patched somehow?

I've noticed the worst of it at the character creation menu. Sometimes when you click on your character to adjust which way their looking the sliders freeze completely. Fixable by switching to a different option (hair, face etc) but it's damn annoying all the same.