Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-108.172.41.254-20151219045744/@comment-6881629-20151219110723

There are a lot of threads on this. Loot is pretty much the same you get given armor by the side you choose, and you can loot the other sides leader of their armor (they look good but aren't good as armor) eventually. Otherwise it basic loot from the soldiers and forts along with random enchanted weapons occasionally as a reward.

Storywise really depends on you, or your charcter if your roleplaying. Check the Stormcloak and Imperial Legion wiki pages and see what each side stands for. A lot of people do like Balgruuf a lot though if your one of them you might want to join the Legion just to keep him around as Jarl.