I am going to admit 2 things that will stop most people from replying on this site:
1) I am a true neewbie. I never played WOW or any other roll playing game.
2) I play on the PS3

That being said. I have a level 49 tank that has finished the main quest, the bards college, civil war, DB and Companions quests. I am trying to do every quest at least once with this character (crossing off the map from the manual as I finish). I started the theives guild last night. I do not like Riften or anyone inside the city. I got feed up with the way the low life thieves were speaking to my character. So I decided to nuke the place. The only thing is that the game will not allow me kill off the guild. I had the opportunity to do so in DB why not the low life thieves guild? Half the city is apparantly immortal.

Well, the point of an RPG is not to kill everyone. It is to get quests from NPCs and resolve them. If you kill off all the quest givers, then you have just have a map to play. If you want to kill everyone, then play a shooter or a game like "Kill all the Humans"

Because maybe in the future you might spontaneously change your worldview and decide you want to join the thieves guild?

Yeah, half the city is linked to the Guild and therefore immortal, sadly there isn't much you can do about it.

Yeah I tried that too...

Riften has potential to be a decent expansion (not nuke wise, but reshaping it one way or another).

I would be interested to know how you "nuked" Riften on the PS3. Unless it was a metaphoric nuke and in that case don't worry.

You can't kill all NPC's. If they are involved in a quest, you can't kill them.

Yeah, essential NPCs are the stupidest idea Bethesda's ever had.

Not really. If you decided to play the game without killing everyone and some quest related NPC dies because he's attacked by a Giant Frostspider. You'd be on the forums saying the worst thing Beth ever did was make all NPC's killable.

I do like the idea of using a nuke. A nuke or only a very heavy explosion underneath Riften should look spectacular. Just for that do I support the OP.

And, yes, I do not care too much for the attitudes of the characters of the thieves guild either. They have interesting backgrounds, but otherwise seem to be standing still in time and are not changing. There is no mutual respect between the player and the guild members as one progresses through the story.

Just reload from a previous save.

I think the they over-did the essential NPCs though. Part of the fun of TES is how each build could be really different. I'm not one to try every quest on a single character, I just don't get how/why my world saving dovakhin all the sudden wants to join the DB or what the motivation for anyone (other than a Nord) would join the stormcloaks.

I would not mind terribly to learn that quest NPCs died every now and then.

Finally, wasn't the RADIANT AI supposed to handle that problem?

If it makes you feel any better, essential NPCs piss me off too.

The downside is the inverse. The NPCs who are not involved in quests, they die but they don't respawn. A no no for evil chars who like to wipe out a town.

Funnily, this is the first TES game where I've actually done most quests (and of course, the main quest as well). I started TES in morrowind as a psychopathic argonian. It seemed like the natural thing to do. And I wasn't much better in Oblivion. Newcomers just don't get the full open world experience, I think.

Then why did I have the option on the DB and not the TG?

Yeah, except in the example you responded to, reloading isn't going to stop a frost spider from killing an essential NPC while you're across the continent.

make then immortal to everyone except for the dragonborn, problem solved and everyone is happy

This is a ridiculous thread. Taken to it's logical conclusion, the folks who want the option to nuke all npc's want a world in which they can kill everyone and be the last man standing. And yet the whole point of this Elder Scrolls installment is that you are the dragonborn, destined to save the world, and you want to nuke it.. This isn't a game in which you get to be whatever you want. You play Skyrim and you are the dragonborn. Period. Regardless of all the different ways you can RP, you will always be the dragonborn.

No Nukes!

Probably because
The only way you can kill them is probably by modding the game, but as you said you're on the PS3 so that's not really an option.

Ding, ding, ding, ding! The Cap'ns post is "Winnah wWinna, Chicken Dinnah! Essential npc problem solved. Don't. Forget to pay the lady on your way out. Stupid phone...

easily fixed, not that it would be a problem since nothing can happen outside the cell you're in, make it so any (Actually) important characters (not some dirt farmer, main quest NPCs and maybe guild NPCs only) can only be killed by the player. problem solved

Have you ever played Fallout: New Vegas? Except for two robots, every single NPC is killable. Works out fine and is a great feature if you want to wipe out a town.

I agree with the OP. Especially Maven Black-Briar. Why do they make an NPC so obnoxious and yet deny you the pleasure of dumping her in the river?

Yeah I don't see the need for it.