I decided to play the game as a character who didn't want to take a side in the civil war, thinking that it wasn't his fight, plus he was in Skyrim to deal with Alduin, not kill Imperials or Stormcloaks. We had the Imperials have Riften in exchange for Markath going to the Stormcloaks.

However, after the peace treaty, where both sides agreed to have a peaceful transfer of power in two holds, I discovered that the Jarls who 'stood down' appear at the usual location they go to if they were exiled (Hall of kings, Blue Palace) and they insult YOU, acting as if you're part of the enemy faction...despite the fact their prefered leader agreed to the swap.

Also, having the Stormcloaks be allowed to have Markath peacefully STILL results in that Thalmor agent, Ondolemar getting killed (even though the greybeards specifically said "NO bloodshed"), oh, and I think two extra Jarls (one is Idgrod Ravencrone, from Dawnstar) end up in Blue Palace and insult you of being a Stormcloak, even though I was neither a Stormcloak or an Imperial.

I concider it stupid, very stupid to have someone say "make a move towards the Jarl and I will end you...Stormcloak" and NOT be a stormcloak. Or have someone call me a dog for siding with the Imperials and taking Riften. It makes absolutely NO sense. Especially since Ulfric agreed to let Riften be transfered over (although reluctantly), and it wasn't me who made the final decision, it was Arngeir, and he said 'peacefully step down. No bloodsheed' yet the housecarl of Riften said he wished he killed more Imperials before being forced to retreat.

I wish Bethedsa could, along with a future DLC, include an update so there is extra dialouge for these idiots so they respond appropriately (especially if you're not part of either side). This way, the voice actors can perform the voices for the new DLC, and add in extra dialouge for this situation. This would make the situation more realistic, as no way would people talk like that in real life, especially if their beloved leader was right there in front of them, and he AGREED to the transfer.

have them say something like "The Imperials now hold the Rift because of the peace treaty. What is worse is Maven Black-Briar is Jarl?!? By Talos, I do hope you know what you're doing, Dragonborn."

or "letting Ulfric take Markath peacefully? his stormcloaks will mess it up. By the eight, why? Why did you allow him to take Markath?"

That would make more sense then having them repeat the same lines as if they were forced to flee.

Anyone?

Maybe Ulfric told them, "It was all the doing of that meddling Dragonborn. I had no choice in any of this." Suddenly, you're the bad guy to these people, the agent of their losing power. Why wouldn't he try to cover his own butt? I think it's perfectly natural, people get disinformation all the time, and act on it. Skyrim does a lot of things wrong, but this isn't one of them, in my opinion.

people can agree to a decision beyond their control without necessarily liking it. they often have to, in fact. they tend to get mad about it, too.

it doesn't matter who you're officially working for. in their eyes you sided with their enemy, so you're part of their enemy.

It's more than that. They still act as if there was a battle for the city when it never happened.

In all elder scrolls games its considered by the lore that the hero did all the main quests so at somepoint you will reclaim those citys and then their dialog will be correct. Dont moan about this too much or we may ven have less choices in the future, We know bethesda likes to cut content and features instead of improving them.

Yeah, this for me goes under the "limited NPC response" complaint. Same as how Dirge still tells you to watch it even when you're his boss, and so on. I presume it's down to the amount of recorded dialogue they can fit in. Annoying, yes. But there are ways of explaining it, as other folk have said here.

I was looking at Morrowind again yesterday and I had forgotten just how much dialogue there was - but when it's all written, there's no need to economise responses, really.

No it isn't. Nothing is assumed. And it's impossible to be peaceful, an Imperial AND a Stormcloak at the same time. This guy is complaining about [censored] responses, not your version of lore.

It's actually things I like in the game. It's pretty much like in real life, where people suspect you of everything especially if you're not guilty of anything.