User blog comment:Thedoucheinthenorth/Skyrim alignment charts-verdict?/@comment-4975504-20120801124732/@comment-5135631-20120805212747

Yes, the Dominon are certaintly a force to be reckoned with, and it will take a lot of effort and blood to defeat them even in Skyrim, but the Nords are no strangers to fighting against the odds e.g. The Return. (This is just one example of many.)

As far as I'm aware, the Khajiit are a client state to the AD. I'm not certain if they fight or not, but they're even more adversely affected by cold climates as the Altmer/Bosmer, if the complaints of Khajiit in Skyrim, lore, and common sense are to be believed. They are good fighters, but still, they rely on cunning and ambush as much as the rest of the AD, which, while still present and possible, would be nulified to quite a large extent by an independent Skyrim; Ulfric knows he will have to fight the Elves soon, and I'd wager the average Stormcloak, literate or illiterate, would to, due to the social impact of the great war.

The Dominion do certaintly time their attacks well, but I still think even with this Skyrim, even during the civil war, could break their northern campaign; nothing knits a divided nation so quickly together than invaders (this is obvious on Earth, but it rings true on Tamriel to; the crowns and forebears made peace when the Thalmor attacked). A unified Skyrim would fare even better than a divided one, of course. Ulfric is no man's fool. He knows the Dominion all to well, having fought against them many times (just one example is that he was a distinguished, but unfortunately underecognised war hero during the battle for the Imperial City) and he knows their mindset. He knows they are tough to beat.

Of course Hammerfell didn't push them out easily, as you correctly identify it cost them a lot. It will cost Skyrim much too, but Skyrim will be succesful in the end.