Oblivion's lockpick system was the only thing I dreaded about being a thief. I never could get the hang of it. Always ended up just using the automatic attempt button.
Aww man I loved it. There was nothing more terrifying than getting 4 of the 5 picks then messing up the last one. In a way it was like you saved your progress, especially at high levels. More importantly, master picks were
nearly impossible to pick at low lockpick levels. Lockpicking in Skyrim/Fo3 is FAR too easy. I can get master picks in a matter of seconds even with really low lockpicking. 99% of the time I use like <3 picks to do it too. I miss the old system. One of the few things I actually dislike about Skyrim.