I think a lot of TES's faults are strictly intentional. The thing is built, specifically, to be modded - the developers have called it a "RPG operating system" at one point - so the product as presented is specifically made as bland as possible. Cardboard people inhabiting a cookie-cutter world, engaging in pantomime combat and playing out a pulp story. It encourages two important things: modders to build off of the very basic template presented, and players to suffer no illusions that the unmodded game is a "pure" state worth giving a shit about. And it works, too. I don't know of anybody who gives a rat's ass about dredging through the default main quest; even if they don't mod, players invariably end up fucking off and turning themselves into vampires or turning invisible and trolling people or filling houses with every single stolen object in the world. So focusing on TES's technical faults is kind of missing the point. It's not the sandbox, it's the nagging mother telling you to turn off th video games and go play in the sandbox, and it only does it because it loves you.