I've thought the blades were evil since way back when I played Morrowind and they took my bad ass room mate Cascius Casades away and haven't heard from him since.

I really wonder what happend to that guy .-.

I thought they were ok, then they asked me to kill Parth.

I think they're just bossy ###holes who only function as useless quest givers.

The damn thing lives for too long anyway, I say. Anything living as long as it did will definitely have a hidden agenda.

"No king rules forever"

"No group lives forever"

The blades are good, just because you become best mates with a dragon does not make them evil.

Neither.

Thought it ever since I met them in Morrowind.

I only know them from Skyrim and I would classify them as mis-guided true believers.

Neutral in MW
Good in Oblivion
2 people seeking to find a purpose in life again in Skyrim

After careful consideration, I agree with this one...

I believe that the blades cannot be truly labeled as "good" or "evil", making them seeming more believable for their role in the series. While they will give their lives to defend the things they believe in (like their Emperor and homeland), they also have the basic human psychology to fear what they don't really understand. And while it may appear to someone that this makes them evil, I personally believe this puts them somewhere in the grey area.

Pretty neutral overall. Ran across Lady Brisienna in Daggerfall, she was a Blade rep IIRC, but the Blades actually had no "joinable" overt presence in that game. Since then, I have viewed them mostly as "get the hell out of my way, I'm not interested in whatever you're selling". But certainly not evil, and probably slanting toward good....

Only played Skyrim.
They're fanatics who know a lot about stuff. But they have no honour or understanding of how thier originaters truely acted or wanted them to act.
They proababely started out as ok, but fanatical dragon hunters.
May even have just been doing it for the thrill.
Then the farther away from their thrill seeking roots they got, the more they dwelt on the idealised version, their hate building to include all dragons.
Even though the ancient blades may have been smart enough to recognize who not to kill.
I think there was a good reason the emporer got rid of them.

Delphine and and Esburn have no honour. They are faithless, and do not act in a way that sensible, neutrel or good people would.
Asking someone to kill a person who helped save the wrold because he killed a few long dead anchesters, is a stupid and dishonourable thing to do. Something they are too cowardly to do themselves.
Tiber Septim was a Blade and he never hurt Paathunax. Countless emporers and leaders have known Paathunax and been on his side.
Even the early Blades probabely knew who not to kill.

I would say they are bad. Not very evil, but bad, traitorous and deluded.

Personally I despise all dragon hunters.

Isn't the Dragonborn technically a dragon hunter?
One shows up, causes trouble, you either kill him or run away.

Thats kill or be killed. If someone attacks you, you kill them, whoever they are.
Dragon huntings deliberately going after dragons, or whatever you are hunting. For no otehr reason than to kill.

Really, one of the things I like about the Elder Scrolls games is that they do a good job of avoiding overt moralizing. Yes, there are people doing some spectacularly bad things, but there are no moral absolutes in the game. Everyone is acting in a manner which they believe to be within the scope of their own moral compass. Even such reprehensible creatures as the Forsworn and Namira's worshippers are doing what their cosmology and belief systems tell them is the proper way to act.

So, are the Blades evil? Well, I guess that really depends on whose shoes you're wearing? If you're a Dragon, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Same as if you're a Thalmor. If you're a human? Less so.

when dragons disappeared they lost their way, they wandered without purpose, and now that they dragons are back they finally have purpose, and they gripped it with both hands.

the problem with this is that neither of them actually know WHY the blades were founded to stop dragons, they fail to understand the problems with dragons, and up until they ask you to kill the big guy on the mountain this isn't an issue, but they fail to see that the blades purpose isn't to hunt dragons, that's just how it was recorded, their purpose was to protect the people from dragons, and in the past the only way to do that was to hunt dragons, because dragons were all inherently evil, but the afore mentioned big guy on the mountain has shown a different way, a possibly better way, but the blades, true to their name, can't see past their blades.

No. They're just militaristic human beings. And like some have pointed out in other threads, there are too many Ned Flanders types buying this game lately.

There are a few interesting things implied about what and where their path leads to, in contrast to the Beards. For example, the Greybeards are the only ones who can help you avoid the Civil War entirely. In order to fully fall in line with the Blades, you have to participate in the War. They represent aggression, even when it comes to stuff besides Dragons and has nothing to do with them. That's kind of interesting to me.

Uh, Korr.... what's a "Ned Flanders type"?

I think the blades are the good guys because they are just trying to do the right thing for the good sake of everyone else, and when they want you to kill parth they have a logical explanation to why they do want you to kill him.

Ned Flanders from the Simpsons. He's basically the preachy moralist who lives next door to Homer.

Yeah but that's sort of conveniently turning a blind eye to what it is.
Plenty of quests and Wordwalls force you to face off against a dragon; especially the "go here, kill this dragon" quests.
Technically you're on its turf in those cases, and it defended itself.
Just sayin.

Oh. I am proud to say I have never in my entire life watched any second of any episode of that.

It used to be good.


Anyways.. I'm really interested in where these two groups take the player later (hypothetically speaking), rather than anything in this game. More than likely, I think they'd be the first people to support you in a moot. Even the Greybeards. Long has the Storm Crown Languished with no worthy brow to sit upon. By our breath we bestow it now to you. The Blades would make a similar statement about dragonborn leaders. The Blades might even help you take power by force. Who knows. Bad as it sounds, it might be fun to play. Now imagine what these two groups would suggest, if you actually governed. Who's more useful? The Blades would definitely target the Thalmor first. I wonder what the Greybeards would say. As cool as they are, their ideas are poor when it comes to matters like dealing with wars and threats.

*sigh* My "Dragonborn" (they're really not any more.... one was enough....) doesn't want that AT ALL. She doesn't want to lead anyone toward or away from anything.... She feels no need to pretend to be the "parent" for Skyrim.

That's the problem with Beth deciding canon for a game that's basically open. Someone's going to hate that decision.... likely me, for one.