So the question is simple: Who do you support and why?

As for me:
The Stormcloaks:

• Are lead by a strong, experienced leader which happens to be quite the racist
  
• Fight to defy the Thalmor sooner rather than later
  
• Have a lot of passion for their cause
  
• Will allianate the Empire, making another potentially dangerous enemy.

The Imperial Legion:

• Are lead by General Tullius which seems to be a great tactician
  
• Elisif may be too weak a queen, though she may grow into it
  
• Are an organization of professional soldiers and highly organized.
  
• Are currently buying thier peace with the Thalmor at the expense of freedom of religion

Personally I prefer the Empire.

If I had a dollar for every one of these "stormcloak vs imperial" threads I would have...a tomato

A whole tomato?

I prefer the Empire also, despite their treat to cut my head off. Suppose that was my own fault for trying to cross the border ! Without a visa !

Imperial Legion.
Stormcloaks whine about how the Thalmor take their freedom and Talos, but they like to forget the fact that they forced the Forsworn into slavery, took their homes and forbade them from worshipping their own god.

Empire.

Do the Stormcloaks really believe that the Empire endorse Talos any less than they do?


Once the Empire is strong enough to oppose the Thalmor, you can bet that the Empire's first act would be to reintroduce Talos and the Emperor to use the White Gold Corncordant to wipe his rear with.

Imperial Legion...

But, I don't think there's a benefit to helping either side win. No one gives you a free home when you save their city (which apparently they couldn't do without you

guess it depends what char you are playing
if im playing nord id prefer stormcloaks
for any other id go with imperials

This is a brilliant point !

Stormcloaks on most of my characters, Legion on my Orc.

I think both of them have their claim, and they are both neck-to-neck in my book. I also like to change my mind in games a lot, so I often bounce back and forth between the two.

When it's all said and done, I would prefer Ulfric as a leader over Mede II.

The Empire don't give Ulfric enough credit for what happened with Torygg. He fought him in fair combat, while Elisif says something like "He murdered my husband and nothing more. I won't say any more details as it pains me to say it."

Ulfric doesn't give the Empire enough credit, as there are plenty of good men in it. Alas, it only takes a few corrupt politicians and one terrible decision to throw it into dismay. (I'm talking about the White-Gold Concordat)

I don't really like the Jarls that support the Empire either. Balgruuf is the only one really, and he was mostly independent until the civil war.

Without the White-Gold Concordat, the Stormcloaks would be whining about their Thalmor overseers.

Also, when my previous NORD character joined the Stormcloaks, Ulfric Stormcloak asked why an outsider would want to fight for Skyrim.

I prefer the Stormcloaks, the Thalmor have this Nazi-vibe going on and I don't want to support that by joining the Imperials.

Stormcloaks


~Edit~

I do like Titus Mede II because he is a Hero.

Tullius pretty much allows the Thalmor to do whatever they want - and cooperates.

Actually that was Galmar, his 2nd in command, and you are taking it out of context. Here is what he said.

Ulfric still allows the Dunmer to live in squalor in the Grey Quarter, and the Argonians are literally banished to the docks of Windhelm. For me, he loses a lot of points on that alone.

The Imperials, backed with my Dragonborn. Don't need to worry about the Thalmor...

The dunmer are allowed to live in windhelm and if they dont like it there it is literally a 3 hour walk to solitude. And what exactly should Ulfric do about their living conditions? Should he pay for upgrades? Give them someone elses house?

I wouldn't exactly call it "living"... but each to their own.

I don't support Rebel scum and their elven masters, Empire for me.
"Ave, true to Talos!"

haven't decided on that part of the story yet. I'll make up my mind based on what's best in principle for my character's bg (wood elf)

Stormcloaks. The Empire right now is basically the fractured Roman Empire. Putting the Empire in charge is like putting it on life support. With no Dragonborn Emperor, the Empire lost all legitimacy. Ulfric's "racism" isn't racism against everybody except Nords. It's against the Elves. Even in the 21st Century, when 9/11 happened, many Middle Eastern people were attacked and the same goes for the Japanese during Pearl Harbor. With the Thalmor (an Elven organization), how can you blame Ulfric for being xenophobic against Elves?

As for why he doesn't like Argonians and Khajiit, well remember that those races are considered "Beast Races" EVERYWHERE. Before you say that Ulfric is racist, remember that the Dunmer used them as slaves and the entire Empire doesn't like them. It's a cultural thing for both Humans and Elves to not like the Beast Races.

Besides, Ulfric doesn't want the Dunmer to live in the slums. He just gave them homes. Whatever comes after wasn't his concern as giving ELVES a home in a HUMAN city is a massive stretch on its own. The Dunmer now complain that they're being mistreated when they can leave anytime they want. There's a perfectly good carriage outside of Windhelm to take them to the Empire.

Not to mention that High Elf lady in Windhelm who earned the Nord's trust. They just hate Elves because of the Thalmor and again, who can blame them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh and Tullius does nothing to show that he's not with the Thalmor. Evidence: During the Summit Meeting in High Hrothgar, Tullius defends Elenwen's presence by saying, "She's part of the Imperial Delegation. YOU can't dictate who I bring to this meeting."

Tullius doesn't even hint at the fact that he doesn't want her there. All he had to say was, "She's part of the Imperial Delegation." But he adds that he brought her to the meeting. Also, Tullius says, "Excuse me Legate?" in a very stern and overseer style way when Rikke wants to honor Ulfric's death in the traditional way by praying to Talos.

By the way, Ulfric's dossier says that he shouldn't win either and that he's not cooperative anymore. Basically meaning that Ulfric's gone rogue against the Thalmor. Doesn't matter if he was a pawn before, now he's a legit threat to the Thalmor to the point where they don't want the Stormcloaks to win either. It's called Redemption.

Besides, if Ulfric bows to the Thalmor after he becomes High King, the Stormcloaks will rebel again.

"Hey my dark elven brothers and sisters, let's find refuge in Windhelm, the only city in whole Skyrim where everyone supports the one political faction that is at war with the empire and another elven nation. Even if the city isn't as near as Riften to our recetly destroyed homeland."

If the dunmer are that stupid they deserve to be treated like crap. Especially since living in the grey quarters is not that bad. The Argonoans are the real victims in Windhelm, but the Stormcloaks act very nice towards the elvea compared to even real world combinations similar to the Skyrim case.

Empire. Ulfric Stormcloak is just a racist that hungers for power. And to quote an Imperial: "What they seem to forget is that it′s the Empire that keeps the Thalmor out of Skyrim"
Furthermore WIndhelm looks crappy and the armor of the Stormcloak Officers looks horrible.

Besides, I don′t support rebels and uprisings in any way.

Ulfric Stormcloak is a very bad man. I never choose stormcloaks.

Empire because one united nation stands better chance against Dominion than two fractured nations.