i think strict roleplaying is how one must play skyrim.

the hud is a broken system and, therefore, i reduce it so that i can actually grab the right stuff, see that something is empty and read what's being said during dialogue.

i have characters that i will play with reloads to get to all the content/achievement type stuff and i have DID saves where i get to try different character builds with insane immersion and tension.

expert and master only.

You missed out the most important thing - no HUD. I cant describe how much more awesome my game got after deactivating the HUD. Also only carry what you yourself would realistically be able to carry.

You missed out the most important thing - no HUD. I cant describe how much more awesome my game got after deactivating the HUD. Also only carry what you yourself would realistically be able to carry.

you don't understand what about how i play?

Realistically, it's impossible to play without at least parts of the HUD, and since there is no selective removal of certain HUD features, I am forced to play with it on.

1) You can't tell if you are near death during a battle.
2) You don't know whether or not you'd be stealing an item.
3) You can't see the titles of books, and they have no names written on the covers.
4) You can't tell if you are near death during a battle.

i play on the same difficulty levels as you: expert and master.

i play with a hud, just a bit lower, at times. i can still see it.

my DID games are completely separate from my normal, reload games.

Actually you repeated a point, and you can play just fine without HUD, it makes navigating particularly fun and so couples well with no fast-travel. I just started doing this today and I curse my stupidity for having put it off so long.

I am a proud Munchkin!

Yes...yes. Adds a sense of mystery and...expectation wouldn't you say?

You missed out the most important thing - no HUD. I cant describe how much more awesome my game got after deactivating the HUD. Also only carry what you yourself would realistically be able to carry.

How do you get around it being impossible to complete 60% of quests because the devs are [censored] who don't even bother telling you where to go and rely on the telepathic link between NPCs and your journal?

You use your map of course. Like you would in real life.

No, it's completely unrealistic, and it's worse than a self-gimp. In reality, I could tell when I am winded and need to catch my breath, but without the HUD I don't even get that.

In the best case scenario, this means scrolling around the entire map for the one little dungeon that has been mentioned. Of course, it is almost certain that you won't have discovered it yet. And there is now way to ask directions.

Or can you still see quest markers on your map when you turn off the HUD?

Smithing is flawed because:

1.) How you gain experience is not contingent on the quality of item. The better the item, the more experience. At a certain point, crafting trivial items should yield a highly degraded skill increase. Players should have to use higher quality materials to raise their Smithing skill.
2.) The Perks for Smithing are silly. The effect of the Perks are HUGE. They can quite easily scale out of control and the fact as soon as I get say Ebony Perk, everything before that becomes obsolete and just pre-reqs. I believe Perk point investments should provide continual benefits. I think it is asinine that basically, the only reason why the Smithing tree is as screwed up as it is is so the "immersion" seekers can take Steel Armor and improve it to the cap and do not have to trade off armor values for RP visuals.
3.) The way the Perk tree is constructed is crazy. Light Armor has 1 less Perk point tier and the Glass Weapons are not on par with Daedric. The best Light Armor is Dragonscale which you can get from the Heavy side, yet Dragonplate is NOT the best Heavy armor. This means you are better off Light or Heavy going the Heavy route as the best Weapons and Armor are that route.
4.) Buying raw materials are incredibly easy to do. You can craft everything MUCH quicker than you can find it. This leaves players who invest in Smithing unenthusiastic when the gear they find is worse than what they are wearing.
5.) Smithing is the only way to have your gear scale. There are EXTREMELY limited tiers of weapons and armor. Considering Base Values are static, a player MUST invest in Smithing to raise their damage output.
6.) The Concept of Smithing is bad. Typically we refer to crafting as a "tradeskill". The reason being as it is used as a source of income for players to TRADE with other players. Typically, the reason why you had to trade was because you could only invest in a LIMITED amount of professions, and some recipes required materials from OTHER Tradeskills. This fosters an economy. Skyrim, is a Single Player game. You do NOT need tradeskills in a Single Player game, and actually you are BETTER served having that reside with NPCs.
7.) Not enough customization. What you do with Smithing is not unique to the game world. You make the same bland items that can be found in the game. Materials are easy to come by and once you make one piece for you, there is no need to make another, outside of how crappy the Enchanting system is you cannot overwrite Enchants so as you level Enchanting you will need more sets of armor or weapons to place higher and higher Enchants on.

Yes, in real life you also don't see a red bar indicating how many more hits you can take. Besides, over time you learn to estimate the damage done and when your health is low your heart starts beating loudly and the camera turns sort of red.

You use your map of course. Like you would in real life.

Dee dee dee, you don't need a red bar in real life, because you can feel what's going on. You can't use any of your five senses through the screen to know what's going on, that's why the health, stamina, and magicka indicators are there.

No, no, of course: I pay close attention to health & stamina (especially, since I play dead-is-dead).

Thankfully, they disappear when not in use.

Similarly, shout-timer is only visible when in use.

I use the global map to re-orient if the quest description is vague in terms of whereabout (which they generally are).