Character background would be nice. I always liked the character generation process in Daggerfall, answering questions that first determined (or suggested, at least) your class and then determined little starting bonuses. But as with a lot of design elements, it's a double-edged sword. Some people would complain that it takes too long when they just want to jump into the game. There are also limitless background elements that imaginative players can think up; they might complain that being limited to a select few choices is too restrictive.

The extra items idea falls into the balance category. gamesas doesn't want players stacking up too many enchantments. Generally the 'it's just an option, you're free to ignore it' crowd is not heard as loudly as the 'it makes the game too easy' crowd. I'd be all for extra aesthetic choices, though. Perhaps cloaks and such that can't be enchanted. I miss strutting around Daggerfall in a stolen fur cloak.

Skyrim could have taken a page from BioWare for a background selection. Give something very basic like choose the region you are from, the city/town, and perhaps one of a few upbringings.

Balancing in a PvE, in relation to extra items, could be done by adding more enemies or increasing their level.

If you're going to call someone an imbecile, spell it right. Imbecile.

The 'racism' is unintentional IMO

It's very hard to disagree with the second part of your post, and you certainly have a point about the racism thing (or speciesism). However, Bethesda needed to make some allowances for gameplay purposes...