Well, from a story perspective we got two joinable factions and a third independent one. Vampires, Dawnguard, and Falmer respectively. Vampires want to block the sun so they no longer have to worry about their weakness to it. The Dawnguard, given their name, must already know about the threat to the sun. Otherwise they'd just call themselves vampire hunters or something, so I get the feeling they have a larger history that we just haven't known about - secret orders and all that. And the Falmer want to distroy the serface world. Given this, one could take a few stabs at the story. Vampires and Falmer join up, leaving the Dawnguard to stop both factions. Vampire and Dawnguard fight gets broken up by falmer trying to do more than just block the sun, forcing both sides to team up.

Stuff like that.

But based on such a name as Dawnguard, I just get a sense that they have a history. Other things want to distroy daylight, ya know? it would be interesting if the writers nip-tuck a few well known icons into the group, so it's history feels more real and less sudden.

Who knows, perhaps they will be like the vigilant of stendarr, a bunch of fanatic, maybe they won't.

It seems like not much has been said at all about the actual Dawnguard save that they are vampire hunters. It seems like they will either have an awesome build into the story or be like working for the Penitus Oculatus instead of the Dark Brotherhood. The storyline looks like it could swing either way, but it's fairly early to speculate.

From I've seen, I will say this. I think the Dawnguard has more potential to feeling like they're facing a real threat. From the perspective of the vampire side, you're battling a bunch of humans with crossbows as you try to blot out the sun so you can get around more easily. In some ways, it's not too different from the Companions battling the Silver Hand. They never felt that scary to me. From the Dawnguard's perspective, though, they're battling vampire lords, beings that transform into terrible creatures, as they try to blot out the sun and cast the world into an eternal darkness.

I know which one I feel carries more weight and feels more threatening.

Agreed.

I also know which side feels a heck of a lot more fun to play as.

Well, one could argue fighting these creatures with unique and horrible powers is just as fun as actually using said powers themselves. If they can fling us the player just as we can fling other npcs, I have to say it would be pretty cool to have it throw me against a far away building only to pull me back towards it for the final blow. I know Beth is usually against taking away control from the player, but I hope they make an exception so these foes have a real sense of power to them.

This is true. It seems like it'd be a far greater challenge and a bigger accomplishment from winning. There's more urgency and panic knowing your enemies are ancient and unholy undead with terrifying and deveastating powers.

I hope there's a lot of Dawnguard, because it seems more and more like there are going to be significant casualties.

Lol, yeah. A bunch of 20-45 year old mortals (Unless they have some centuries old Elves with them) going up against a bunch of centuries-millenia old Vampires that have undoubtedly slain countless vampire hunters during that time. Not just any Vampires either, but the legendary Volkihar who've recently become Paragon Vampires.
Something is telling me that the Dawnguard are going to be completely reliant on the Dovahkiin to carry their ass to victory. If the Dovahkiin decided to not pick sides, then the Volkihar would most assuredly stomp and crush the Dawnguard into the dirt.

Unquote me then.

I'm actually more interested in the dawnguard. I like the idea of a challenge, and im really hoping that killing vampire lords and their gargoyle minions will be challenging.
I also enjoy crafting in the game, and Todd said that Dawnguard are more about crafting items, so that should be cool.

The only one I remember from the thieves guild is Brynjolf.
Only 'cause he says "Lad" and "Lass".

But I thought the lawful quests in Oblivion were good.
Skyrim's are kinda' meh.

Well, the Thieves Guild quest line is memorable. For how bad it is.

It's looking like the vampires' motives may have something to do with Daedra worship, just noting by what looked like a shrine to Molag-Bal in the official Dawnguard trailer.

The Dark Brotherhood was the only faction in the game actually worth playing through, but I'm hoping the Dawnguard avoid the "lawful bland" issue, because I don't want to be a vampire lord.

Actualy, come to think of it. Wouldn't it have been cool if membership in the companions (or any guild for that matter) could sway them to support either side of the Civil war? That would have made for some interesting events...

more on topic;
I hope that they do something interesting with the Dawnguard. I'm hoping for more difficult moral choices when playing the assumed 'good guys'.

Think about it, being good is the harder choice, you have to think about the concequences of your actions and contend with the ever difficult 'do the ends justify the means' situations.
Problem is non of the good/neutral factions realy have such elements in their questline. Would be good if Beth gets into that a little more. That would make for a more interesting Dawnguard questline imo

I speculate that the Dragon will be a part of the Dawnguard. Would that not be cool?

But wasn't that already done with the

Simmer down sports fans, this is just the first dlc they have come out with. Surely they have one or to notable characters in the Dawnguard. You can't rush perfection and besides it seems to me we've only got one side of the story so far. Sooo that begs the question what else will the addon bring to the table eh?

It would have, definetly better than:

To be honest im banking on an intersteing origin story for how and why the dawngaurd are who they are. say a interesting love triangle tradgedy between the dawngaurd leader harkon and a woman ? ( unless the dawngaurd leader was or is the woman )

OP: Modryn Oreyn is not bland and forgettable. One of my fave OB npcs.

I do not remember much TeS characters... M'aiq I will never forget.. But i seem to remember a hell of allot Fallout characters..