In Elder Scrolls games, I feel like there shouldn't be "punishment paths" to begin with.
Good point, actually.
Or, hmm. Expand them. By their nature, the dungeons in these games are both unique and disposable; they are in a special position to let most of them possibly become "the one that got away". But by and large, you're not allowed to permanently fail them. The games (or at least, those I've played) just don't let you booch up a delve entirely, outside of the death->reload loop. Your character's adventures are a nigh-uninterrupted string of victories punctuated by the occasional "I'm not tooled up for this one, maybe I'll come back later". Consequently, "turning back and escaping with your life" is the closest you can get to an actual failure state, whereas it should be a thrill and its own kind of victory.
What I'm saying is, instead of having instances of "I fell down this spike pit trap, guess I'll have to hoof it back up to the main level", there should be instances of "I didn't notice this pressure plate, now the tunnels have caved in, I can't get to the boss chest and I need to find an alternate exit and OH SHIT FIVE TROLLS RUN RUN RUN". Heck, put those instances in major quest lines. "Welp, guess this guy ain't making it to archmage."
Maybe I should try my hand at Skyrim modding.