Long time lurker, first post here.
I love Morrowind, Oblivion and now Skyrim.
I have seen a lot of hate posts over the last few months some even valid, so instead let's share what we like and love about Skyrim.

I am an Elder Scrolls lore geek, so when I first heard about Dragon Shouts before the game came out I was very excited because it
sounded like we could finally use Thu'um.
Then it was confirmed and I was like: Yes! Yes! We can finally use Thu'um!
And then when I finally began using it I was squeeing with delighted glee.
You know, even more than before.

I love that all the cool things we Elder Scrolls fans have longed for over the years, dragons, dual wielding, Thu'um, item crafting to name a few is in this game.
I was never interested in nor desired dual wielding, but when I saw it and used it I admit it is very cool.

I love how nearly all the Dragon shouts of legend and even some not mentioned in the lore are in the game.
I love how useful and powerful Thu'um is. It is a grabbag of powers, suitable for any type of char, stealth, combat or magic and any combination thereof.
I like how clever use of Shouts is rewarded, how creativity and ingenuity in developing sweet and useful and deadly Shout, spell, gear and skill combinations is possible.

I love how much harder everything is, everything from bears, to wolves, combat to diseases are nastier, more deadly.
I love how the skills, perks and stats have been given a power boost just to be able to survive the harsh, cold and unforgiving land of Skyrim.
I love how combat is more brutal and satisfying, how the world and characters, monsters, animals are better looking.
I loved the melee finishing moves in vanilla Skyrim and love the ranged, magic and added melee finishing moves even more.
I adore the music of Jeremy Soule, naturally.
The man is a genius.

I love Bethsesda for both creating an excellent and entertaining game, for fixing the bugs with their patches and adding some of the game jam content for free when the majority of game developers would try to gouge us gamers.
Reminds me of Morrowind. Entertainers plugin, one of my personal favourites. area of effect arrows too.
Good times, good times.
I loved Bloodmoon to bits, so it is no surprise that I love Skyrim as well.

As a person of Nordic origin I love the land of Skyrim, the house in Bruma in Oblivion was my personal favourite of all the houses in vanilla.
I love the sense of scarcity of many things.
I love the much darker quests, the darker, more morally ambigous themes, especially the Daedric quests and the Thieves guild/Dark Brotherhood.

I love how we not only get confirmation on many of the lore bits, but also get to experience and interact with cool factions only mentioned previously in the books.
Experiencing firsthand the awesome, near godlike powers of the Psijic order or meeting the Greybeards is any Elder Scrolls lore geeks squeetastic moments of awesome.

I love how suitably epic the main quest of Skyrim is, Skyrim is epic in both the original sense and the newer meaning.
Feats of valour and heroism worthy of and even surpassing the Nordic sagas.
I love the for the first time in my experience major climactic finishes of the faction and main quest endgames.
I was impressed with the Companions endgame and was even more impressed wth the College of Winterhold, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood questlines and climixes.

I love cooking, the fact that cooking isn't a skill and we know all the recipes from the start.
I love how we get vegan and vegetarian cooking options, which in my experience is unusual in RPGs.
I love the very sweet hairstyles and beards.
Manly beards!
I love the facial scars and facial tattoos.

Lots of love to Bethsesda, Skyrim, Angry Joe who did a great review and lots and lots of love to all the great fans, fan fic writers, mod makers who continue to make the game and community so much greater, enjoyable and entertaining.

So, please share what you all love about Skyrim.

^ I'm with you and I think you've just about covered it!

Also, I love how we are always rewarded for being nosey.

Also, I love that I can start a new character and jump right in doing quests, etc.; OR I can spend a bunch of levels crafting and getting myself ready for the world, and tackle the quests when the rewards have leveled up. I guess I mean I love the options.

No classes so i can play how i want, soundtrack is awesome, Ulfric Stormcloak (yep he's a plus) and just a very fun game.

Yes, just like in Morrowind, Oblivion, Falllout 1, 2, 3 and New Vegas exploring and finding cool stuff is rewarded.
A major part of the fun for a roleplayer like me in games like this is finding things I haven't seen or experienced before.
I have played Morrowind and Oblivion and F1/2/3 for years and am still finding cool stuff.

I also enjoy taking trophies and displaying them in my homes.
The Shield of Soltude hanging at a shield plaque in Proudspire Manor, my axe of Whiterun in Breezehome.
Displaying the severed heads of hagravens, a troll skull or human skull as a reminder of my exploits and heroism and significant battles and kills.

Another thing I love are the stories we make ourselves. The nonscripted events, character quirks, like leaving a nightshade on the corpses of those you assasinate, like a calling card.
Or if going Imperial in the civil war killing Ulfric Stormcloak with the Marked for Death Shout.
Both for added irony, shouting him apart, but also because he is. He is marked for death.

Unlike Oblivion NPC's and companions can take a hit. They aren't one shotted like in some games, but can survive and handle themselves well in a fight.
Makes escort missions much easier, which lessens frustration immensely.

I love how you can not only set your own goals (like any good open world game) but how you can set your own roles.

When my very first character was made Thane of Whiterun I took it really seriously, I used to go out every morning on my horse and ride around the hold helping farmers and dispatching predators, I knew the entire hold like the back of my hand, knew all the farmers names etc.

Anyway, I spent the first week (that's irl week btw) just doing that.

I love how you can just do that and every day you rode out you couldn' t predict what would happen.
Whiterun was like my whole gameworld for a while (and it felt big) and when I eventually did move on it made Skyrim seem massively huge to me.

So yeah I like how you can just pretty much become anything you like.. if you want to spend your entire game being a game hunter or an alchemist or a wandering merchant, you can.
You could play this game forever and never do 90% of the quests and still have a fun time.

TES games really usually only open up for me in terms of flexibility with the second character... primarily because you now know how to avoid the main quest lol.

I love how I can start a new character, and find new things each time I play through. Yeah, the main line quest, once you've done it a few times gets a bit predictable, but just exploring the world, I find things I never knew existed. For instance, I ran across a dwemer ruin (Kagrenzel) the other day I'd never seen before. So for me, its the new and fresh things I find even after multiple playthroughs.

I was a Gold Box D and D guy. Then a Baldur's Gate guy. Then a Dragon Age guy. I saw Oblivion but didn't play it. The Bioware/EA flushed Dragon Age down the toilet. I needed to feel the magic again.

I found Skyrim the way I find most new games these days; watching Let's Plays on You Tube. I'm glad I found this game. Oh yes. The magic is back.

I love all the amazing people of Skyrim.
Proud and honourable Balgruuf the Greater caring for his people, daring Ralof a true and steadfast friend, idealistic Elsif the Fair, bold Hadvar risking his life to protect the people and even risking his life for me, a suspected criminal, proud wary suspicious Irileth, I suspect she has Redoran or Indoril somewhere in her family name in the past.

I love Alvor and the people of Riverwood,
Galmar Stonefist, cunning, skilled, crafty and loyal. Ulfric Stormcloak, brave, strong yet humble and caring.
I love Whiterun and the people in it, I love Mjoll the Lioness and Aerin.
I am fascinated how upbringing can change man and mer so, Brand-Shei of House Telvanni, yet he is not a mad wizardlord, but caring, humble and polite.

I love how in the civil war quest I can finally tell the men not to risk their lives and I go in solo to kill the enemy.
I have waited decades to have that option!

I love the great continuity, callbacks and references to previous games and old lore.
I love slaying dragons and the feel of killing seven enemies with just one twohanded sweep power attack.

I love how the stormcloaks aren't all black evil villains.
I always save Thorald Gray-Mane as a Nord even if I am Imperial aligned.
It doesn't matter his allegiance, I won't let him rot and suffer in the hands of the Thalmor.
It isn't about politics, but honour and saving a fellow man from unjust Meric oppression.

I love the casual belligerance of Nord culture, the headstrong advlts and children.
Ah Braith! You may be a Redguard, but you have the heart of a true Nord lass.