except for the label "perk" used in both there hasn't been one time where i've played skyrim and thought of fallout3.

Fallout was made on the Oblivion engine by the same artists and developers, naturally the feel of the game is similar.
Same with Skyrim who has many more similarities with Oblivion than Fallout 3.

The raiders with their auto generated faces looked better than the named npc, probably as any attempt to give them unique faces made them ugly, much like in Oblivion.

Yah the npcs, the perks, the over all feel, it reeks of fallout.

Both games have bleak, bland, colorless landscapes. One is all white and the other is all brown, both are dull and uninviting.

Same here. Especially since Oblivion and Fallout actually shared the exact same engine, some animations, voices and much more. So I can't possibly see how Oblivion seems more unique from Fallout than Skyrim.

I understand where the OP is coming from.

I've logged well over 400 hours between Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, and I don't think Skyrim feels even remotely like either of them. Yes, Skyrim's atmosphere is hostile and a tad desolate, but nowhere near as much as in Fallout.

Agreed!

Fallout 3 was NOT a fallout game. It was more of a TES game.

Fallout NV shows us that there us still hope for RPGs, it's a light shining in the darkness.
Kudos if you got the reference.

[censored] Skyrim!