The minigame's difficulty can based solely on the level of the lock. Maybe we can even bring back lockpicks of varying qualities (novice lockpick, journeyman's lockpick, etc.). And for other character types, we could bring back Open spells, and even the ancient art of bashing a locked door until it opens from Daggerfall.

Lockpicking, as it is, isn't exactly something worthy of an entire perk tree, and I'm not sure how they could really flesh it out compared to other skills. I'd much rather just see more alternatives to opening locked doors that don't involve a lockpicking skill. I mean, how many lockpicking perks are worth the perks it takes to reach them?

Maybe even Pickpocket should be absorbed back into the Sneak skill. There would still be pickpocket relevant perks, of course (who doesn't love literally stealing the shirt off of a guard's back?), but it would all be dependent on the Sneak skill.

This is of course assuming they get replaced with more worthwhile skills, like Acrobatics+Athletics, or Unarmed.

I personally thought the, "Quick Hands" perk was a good one to have because it gave you the ability to pick locks out in the open without NPC's seeing what you are doing. Other than that, I would have to agree...

The "Wax Key" perk(or whatever it is called) isn't even worth it, as you get a key whenever you pickpocket someone in their house while sleep. Why wouldn't you take the key?

This, I think. One "Security" skill that encompasses locks, traps, and pickpocketing.

And I'd rather they just do away with the minigame altogether. Your skill should determine first, what locks you're capable of cracking, and second, how quickly you can crack them. So even if you're competent enough to brute force your way through a tough lock, it might take you thirty seconds of tinkering. That means you need to keep an eye out for patrolling guards, lest you be spotted in the middle of your larcenous act. Implementing different types of locks---key, combination, magical---that require different skillsets and tools. Bringing back different lockpick/probe types and qualities would be nice for this.

Because not everyone plays a pickpocket thief......

It would take away our levels though, and i don't think it's a good idea

It's more like, if you've already picked the door once, how often are you going to have to pick it a second time? Unless a quest sends you back to the same place, you've likely already taken everything you wanted. And if you do need to get back in, for whatever reason, you've already proved capable without needing to waste a perk on what amounts to a rarely used convenience tool.

I'd like to see a better mingame. As it stands, any idiot with two or three picks can crack open the toughest locks regardless of his level. It's lame. Oblivion's mingame was just tedious, however, and Morrowind's lockpicking lacked imagination.

What I'd like to see even more than better lockpicking are alternatives to lockpicking for warrior and mage players. Bashing in doors and breaking chests open should be a less effective, potentially risky alternative for brawny characters; mages should have an expensive and limited open lock spell.

Unless you're a thief breaking into houses, picking any lock is barely worth it in this game, let alone investing in perks for it. How many times have you picked an Expert lock on a chest to discover 13 Gold and a potion of minor stamina inside.

I love Skyrim, but the loot is sh**.

I disagree with removing the minigame, but Lockpicking should definitely happen in real time, instead of pausing the game like it currently does. Different types of locks would be cool, too, maybe even with a different minigame. How cool would it be if you could sneak up to a Dwemer automaton undetected and disable it "Robotics Expert" style with a lockpicking challenge?

And I'm saying it should be replaced with a better skill, so levels shouldn't really matter. Besides, TESVI will probably have a different skill setup anyway, so it's a moot point.

Can you explain what you mean by this? It's just lockpicking. You click, your character picks the lock. Just like you click, your character swings a sword. Why does there need to be anything more to it?

How do you even implement a minigame that also accounts for character skill without repeating the hard restrictions seen in Fallout 3/NV, where your lockpicking skill only makes meaningful improvements when you hit the four threshold levels---25, 50, 75, 100?

Lock-picking is a bad skill indeed. Why they couldn't have it a bit more like Fallout, where you need to match the skill to attempt to open it, I dont' understand.
And, before you say "But it's so unrealistic that I can't open a level 50 lock with 49 in lock-pick!", then you really need to look at Skyrim's skills and see that it's exactly the type of thing that's going on in most perks
And, it's ways better than "I have NO idea what I'm doing, but apparently if I throw enough lock-picks at this lock, I'll be able to open it! YAY!"