After losing all of my progress due to building an entirely new computer(no idea how to transfer save files from the old computer to the new one for Skyrim), I'm about to come back to Skyrim after about a 3-4 month break. Been playing some Diablo 3 and what not, but it's just not as good as I was hoping, and I'm ready for some exploration and fun again, but, I"m wondering what all has changed. The last patch I played was 1.04, so there has been 3 it appears, since I last played, as well as the addition of Dawnguard(which I won't be able to download until my Data Cap restarts in 2 weeks), and the upcoming release of hearthfire(which I'm unsure if I"ll bother with, since it doesn't appear to be a major DLC really). Other then those two, what have the patches changed, fixed, and added that I should know about?

Are you gonna get DG and HF? If not, then I don't think horseback combat alone is going to keep your more entertained than you have already been.

Also, they took out some of the old bugs; so that they can let new ones in!

http://www.bethblog.com/2012/03/20/skyrim-1-5-available-on-steam/

http://www.bethblog.com/2012/06/10/1-6-update-for-xbox-360-english/

http://www.bethblog.com/2012/08/27/skyrim-1-7-update/

Different for different platforms, but links have the changelogs.

1.5 Title Update

• New cinematic kill cameras for projectile weapons and spells
  
• New kill moves and animations for melee weapons
  
• Smithing skill increases now factor in the created item’s value
  
• Improved visual transition when going underwater
  
• Improved distance LOD transition for snowy landscapes

Bug Fixes:

• General crash fixes and memory optimisations
  
• Fixed issue with Deflect Arrows perk not calculating properly
  
• In “A Cornered Rat,” the death of certain NPCs no longer blocks progression
  
• Fixed issue where Farkas would not give Companion’s quests properly
  
• Fixed crash when loading saves that rely on data that is no longer being loaded
  
• Followers sneak properly when player is sneaking
  
• Fixed issue with weapon racks not working properly in Proudspire Manor
  
• Arrows and other projectiles that were stuck in objects in the world now clean up properly
  
• Fixed issue where “Rescue Mission” was preventing “Taking Care of Business” from starting properly
  
• Fixed issue where certain NPCs would fail to become Thieves Guild fences
  
• Fixed issue in “Diplomatic Immunity” where killing all the guards in the Thalmor Embassy before starting the quest would break progress
  
• In “Hard Answers,” picking up the dwarven museum key after completing the quest, no longer restarts the quest
  
• Killing Viola before or after “Blood on the Ice” no longer blocks progression
  
• Fixed issue where Calixto would fail to die properly in “Blood on the Ice”
  
• In “Waking Nightmare” fixed occasional issue where Erandur would stop pathing properly
  
• Fixed issue where letters and notes with random encounters would appear blank
  
• Fixed rare issue where dialogue and shouts would improperly play
  
• Lydia will now offer marriage option after player purchases Breezehome in Whiterun
  
• Fixed issue where if player manually mined ore in Cidhna Mine, jail time would not be served
  
• Fixed rare issue with skills not increasing properly
  
• Fixed issue where the Headsman’s Axe did not gain proper buff from Barbarian perk
  
• In “A Night to Remember” it is no longer possible to kill Ysolda, Ennis or Senna before starting the quest
  
• Fixed issue with the ebony dagger having a weapon speed that was too slow
  
• Fixed issue with “The Wolf Queen Awakened” where backing out of a conversation with Styrr too soon would block progress
  
• The third level of the Limbsplitter perk now properly improves all battle axes
  
• Fixed a rare issue where Sanguine Rose would not work properly
  
• In “Tending the Flames” King Olaf’s Verse will no longer disappear from explosions
  
• Fixed issue with frequency of first person kill cameras
  
• Underwater effects now display properly
  
• Fixed issue where sun would not appear properly after fast travel

I forgot about 1.6

• General memory and stability optimizations
  
• Fixed crash related to new water shaders
  
• Fixed rare crash related to dragon landings
  
• Fixed logic error with loading screens from add-ons (Xbox 360)
  
• Using vampiric grip and swimming no longer prevents swimming animation from playing afterwards
  
• Improved recognition with Kinect voice commands (Xbox 360)
  
• Kinect-enabled dragon language shouts for French, German, Italian and Spanish work properly (Xbox 360)
  
• Fixed issue with Dawnguard Kinect-enabled dragon shouts for French, German, Italian and Spanish (Xbox 360)