I always wished that the FG had more jobs - contracts you could complete without advancing to the point where you triggered the major questline and ended up becoming guildmaster.
So I was very happy with the Companions. The lore is awesome, Jorrvaskr is awesome, the questline feels very cool, the rewards are nice, the members aren't annoying (except for one or two), and you can keep doing contracts forever.
However.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but the generic nature of Oblivion's Fighter's Guild had one big advantage. In Skyrim, if I want to make a mercenary, or a D&D style fighter, or a basic adventurer, I feel like I can't fit in the world. The Companions are very ... specific, I guess. If I don't want to be a Nord hero, I can't picture hanging around the mead hall, doing contracts and the kinds of things I would have done in OB's FG.
I love the Nordic mythology, history, and lore. I'm a big fan of Beowulf and Northern European mythology, so what Beth has done with Skyrim (and TES in general) strikes me as just right. I've made several Nords, one of whom was all about the Companions, and the questline, the NPCs, the armor and weapons - it was all perfect.
What I'm saying is that OB's "generic fantasy setting" in a way allowed you to roleplay any number of characters very easily. Skyrim makes it easy to be a Nord hero, but a little harder to feel like some other kind of character. It's obvious why it should feel this way - after all, Skyrim is the home of the Nords, whereas Cyrodiil was more of a melting pot. But I wish there was some other way to plug into the world of Skyrim as a warrior/fighter rather than as a gung-ho traditionalist Nord.
Maybe an "adventurer's guild" or even a chapter of Cyrodiil's FG in one of Skyrim's cities would be nice. But I'm not sure; the devs did such a good job with establishing the feel of this world that I think the issue would remain.
This is a very odd observation, I'm aware. It's not quite a complaint... maybe just some misplaced nostalgia?
Anyway, if you followed that, what do you think? Are you having a hard time fitting into Skyrim as an Imperial (or Orcish, or whatever) adventurer?

