The Argonians and the Khajiit are not even allowed inside the cities.
Yeah, that did it for me. It all looks and feels like it was too much time/cost involved to fork speech (and Standing etc) depending on choices the player has made ... Even basic choices, like race.
Cats: To be honest, they shouldn't really be a playable race, given 90% of the Main Quests require you to enter a city. Either that, or a ton of work is done to make playing a cat a bit more like playing a cat should be (sneaking into cities ... letters to get quest-giver NPCs to come to you outside cities ...), in Vanilla it just feels as though the race you picked is a costume, there for the graphics and nothing else
(to be fair, there would need to be a ton of stuff to read - after the wagon-ride - for anyone not familiar with previous games/lore; to inform them of the consequences of the choice they are making ... And who likes reading, eh?)
Quite why a cat can't get (much) work for the caravans is beyond me ... I'd be the best fence going. And not just for Skooma/Moon Sugar either
...Hell, they even allow cats to marry humans!
At one point, I think Whiterun & Morthal (and maybe others?), you're told that now you have been made Thane the Lord will inform the guards, so that they treat you better. This could be expanded on, allowing you access as a cat (having performed heroic dead X for each Lord) ... Riften also has a guard bribe for initial entrance ... Could be more expensive for a cat.
NPC-Voice-Dialogue ... worst idea since Clive's C5.