User blog comment:Fimmion/Why Skyrim was rigged from the start/@comment-5214397-20120701054339

Awwwwww, I forgot to put in the part about how even the Imperials are against the Thalmor (General Tullius mentions that another war with the Thalmor is on the brink after the Civil War questline, provided you sided with the Imperials).

Essentially, this was a huge bash against the Thalmor. And any and all statements over why the Thalmor suck is strictly on a gameplay basis. The game would be unplayable if you sided with the Thalmor; Everybody would hate you.

And I too, simply because of my gameplay style, tend to escape with Hadvar at the beginning, just so I can take Alvor's ingots and get a head start on my smithing and armor.