So I know some people might have been annoyed by the Thieves Guild requirement of doing those 20 side jobs total and the 4 primary missions to become Master, but don't you wish they had you do something of the like for the Companions and the College? The Dark Brotherhood made sense for how quickly you rose through the ranks, but the College and Companions did not, and I think that was why they weren't the best of the guilds. If the Companions made you do more contracts, and perhaps assignments with the other Companions as Shield-Siblings so you could learn more about the people outside of the Circle, that would have been fantastic. And for the College, they could have made you recover lost tomes or hunt down magical artifacts to prove your worth as a mage.

Anyone else agree?

Maybe like 10 side quests til the next big quest? Or maybe more. 10 seems good to me.

I usually make myself take some side quests to lengthen out the guild quests anyway, as an rp thing, but if the guilds actually required you to do more side stuff I wouldn't be upset. Though, I think the mages guild should make you attend class and take tests rather than just more cave diving. Ya know, just more things that fit with the theme of the guild. I wouldn't complain.

With the Companions, I think an easy way to improve things would have been to include a quest or two involving the Silver Hand before the big reveal. That way you get introduced to another faction that is opposed to the Companions, and forms the backbone of that faction's questline. But there's also a bit of mystery. Why the antagonism between these two groups? Why should you be loyal to the Companions? But mostly just by breaking up the story into more quests, the pacing of the faction would have been a lot better.

In addition. I wish there was consequences and decisions within the guild. Not only as headmaster, research this.. rob that ect, but within the questline. A more robin hood approach and method of the Thieves guild. Does that make sense? Like quests with a decision. Good and bad maybe? But I would like a morally grey decisions too.

I agree. A few 'classes' for the College - for example, 'cast five apprentice-level spells on Tolfdir'. The need for a few radiant quest between Companions quests would lengthen the Companion's quest, improving its pacing and thus making the questline a very good one - at least IMO.

I agree that more quests building up reputation and favour within the guild would help, but I don't think that solves the pacing problem. That problem exists, I think, because too many plot points are lumped together in single quests. This means that within only three or four quests, you've basically completed the entire Companions storyline. Oh sure, it's broken up a little by radiant quests, but that feels very artificial.

So, for example:
Reading these threads always annoys me, however, because I'm always left with the impression that the devs just didn't really put in a great effort with designing the faction storylines. Just a little extra thought about how the story should go, and how the quests should go, and the factions would be a lot better. I find it hard to believe that the devs couldn't have come up with these sorts of ideas, so I conclude that they thought we'd be satisfied with dungeon crawling unrelated to any faction, and radiant quests. I hope that changes in the next TES.

Well, another point as I pointed out in my previous thread that to be a truly open world and sandbox experience... there should be different ways to finish the entire guild quests.

And I agree... fractions would be a nice addition too

I personally think it should have been like Oblivion. Not the recommendations part, but going through the ranks of Novice Mage. Actually my build for the mages guild. I actually made a thread about this. I personally thought it was to obvious the High Elf was going to be the bad guy. I think they should have switched it around. The Eye of Magnus stays where they found it and they don't bring it to the college, Toldir is studying the Magnus, but he is still your teacher. As you go through the ranks you gain an emotional connection with Toldfir, and then he becomes consumed with the Eye of Magnus and becomes a beholder of its evil, while the High Elf is the one trying to stop him. Just because I felt Skyrim painted the Altmer as all bad people and they shouldn't have.

While you think the High Elf is the bad guy, and are being lead, Toldfir.

Second off I know Radiant Quest are "fun" [I find them bland] I think they should have went the old school way. So let's say you have Novice class lessons, but before you can take your Novice test you have to help out the staff with jobs from the different staff members. And these aren't glamorous jobs at first, such as collecting imp gall. Also they should have "Closed" off the Main Quest.

Such as when you learn about the Staff of Magnus, instead of making you go there, instead they send another staff member or member of the college to go, while you do some meaningless task. Yeah sure players will be pissed, but the thing is you still go off to the Staff of Magnus, but it adds the realism that they aren't going to trust an Apprentice mage as something high secret as that. Instead they make you help another teacher, chomping at the bit, fuming angry that you can help with the staff, but instead are forced somewhere else.

And I know a lot of people don't like these "closed ending" quest. But I prefer over the radiant quest were nothing feels like its being accomplished because its the same task over and over again.

Then after you do the ridiculous task that they told you to do, you take your Apprentice test to become the higher rank, find out the staff member didn't come back, go to find them, then at the same time go off and get the staff.