Finally finished the MQ and it has left me a bit puzzled. I know that Alduin is supposed to be really bad and that him returning signaled a time that the end may be near. But at no time did Alduin do anything really all that terrible. Sure, the dragons returned when he did; however, they haven't left either since I killed him. Its sort of like Skyrim is the same whether he was alive or dead. Dragons still terrorize the people of Skyrim, there is just no immediacy in trying to kill a certain dragon named Alduin.

I intnetionally avoided any spoilers regarding the main quest. I was really hoping that my actions leading up to the big fight would have helped save the planet at every turn. That I was able to thort Alduin from doing some pretty awful things while also being set on the trail of figuring out how to kill him. But instead Alduin really didn't do anything except free me from execution and feed off some souls to gain more power (which is exactly what any player does who uses soul gems for enchantments.) Did Alduin really deserve to die for these crimes?

yes, I "read" the Alduin Wall and saw the potential for disaster was always there, but the story itself, well again, now that he is dead, there is no difference in the happenings of Skyrim. At no time during the main quest did I feel Tamriel was in any immediate danger because Alduin wasn't really doing anything all that dangerous.

You remember the cartoon, Laff-A-Lympics? The bad guy team was called the Really Rottens. Alduin is way worse than the Really Rottens.