OK so I was just coming back from a doing a quest in near Windhelm when just as I was entering the city I was confronted by three heavily armed thugs who want to "teach me a lesson". My health is 130 and the only blades I carry are duel daggers, so my Bosmer isn't going to beat three armed Nords in a straight fight. Sometimes the best form of attack is to retreat, so that's exactly what I did. I ran to across the bridge to where I find a group of guards having a mothers meeting. So I stand behind them and draw my daggers and stand in wait.

As the thugs run towards me what do the guards do? Do they unsheathe their swords and come to my defence and prepare to lay down their lives to protect an innocent Elf? No they run away like little school girls leaving me to my inevitable fate. So I run past them back down the bridge. But what they didn't know my Bosmer is an expert in Illusion magic. So I take high ground and cast Fury on the thugs and let them sort it out amongst them selves. I then pick off the rest with my trusty bow and I live to tell the tail and fight another day.

But guards running away from danger? The Nords of Windhelm are racists cowards.

Nords standing up to fight for the rights of a Dunmer? Hrmhmhehe..heeheehehahhaa....this one enjoys a good laugh now and then!

I ran into those hired thugs as soon as I exited the gates of Riften. I immediately turned around and re-entered the city and the thugs were gone for good. Never saw them again. Guess they have tougher guards in Riften and they didn't even have to draw weapons to scare the thugs off.

You pissed somebody off. NPCs in this game deal out payback with a vengeance. There should be a contract on one of the attackers with the person's name who ordered the hit.

My guess is you stole something sight unseen (believe it or not), or you said or did something that hurt someone's feelings. Believe it or not.

I just searched their bodies and found the contract. My Bosmer is also thief and I have been having pickpocketing lessons from Silda The Unseen, sillily I've been pickpocketing the money I gave her back. She obviously found out, but the contract said not to kill me.

EDIT: My beef isn't about being attacked, occupational hazard. My problem is with the guards fleeing.

Agreed, I hate how the guards won't help you.

Yup, They ran away from a DB assassin and a thief too. They do fight dragons though, so maybe it's just a bug and not another feature.