So I ran past a fort and got attacked by various skeletons, mages and a frost atronach. I ran as I were surely going to die had I stopped to fight. About 200 meters, in-game, I met a bodyguard, a noble and his wife. They were heading the way were I came from.

I wish there were some kind of dialogue option to warn NPC's about danger ahead.

Yeah, I wish there were an option that allowed us to just shout to them "DON'T COME THIS WAY, YOU'LL DIE A SLOW PAINFUL DEATH IF YOU DO", while you're trying to get rid of the dangers they're heading towards ^^

Yeah, something like that. It would fit my character who's a good-hearted mage.

You could warn them you could do that ,or like me you could stick an arrow in the noble chop the head of his guard ravish his wife and run off with any loot.

The Noble on his horse? I hate that guy. He always act like he is better than me.. A good arrow in his knee always shut him up, but his GUARD is immune to arrows in the knee so I needed to trick him with a sweetroll and knock him out with a fishy stick.

Yeah but those people would have told you they had nothing to say to you (peasant) and ignored you anyway.

On the other side of things, I've often wondered how say a farmer heading to wherever to join whatever was able a few minutes earlier to pass unscathed by the same fort from which a horde of bandits immediately erupts to attack me when I go past.

Another mystery of the RPG universe.

Just like I've always wondered how all the torches remain lit in dungeons, etc., that "no one has entered for hundreds of years".

If only we had that technology.