User blog comment:Hippogriff12/The Scarcity of Racists in Skyrim/@comment-5302371-20120728161339/@comment-5135631-20120729150738

The reason that I think Skyrim would be better alone agains the Dominion, aside from all the logistics and tactics and shit, is due to the fact that if Skyrim were part of the Empire and another great war would break out, Skyrim's defence would be governed by the Imperial Legion. This essentially means that if the Empire wins, Skyrim wins, yes, that sounds good, but it also means that if the Empire is losing in Cyrodill or wherever, and they surrender, they have to surrender across the board, so even if the Nordic legions are still fresh and strong, they have to bend the knee despite still having a decent chance to beat the Thalmor. A High King, like Ulfric, who actually puts his country first, would make a much stronger defence of Skyrim than an Empire who would judge the war effort simply on it's situation in Cyrodill. Basically, I'm saying the Thalmor probably can beat the humans in Cyrodill, but they wouldn't be able to in Skyrim. Hammerfell proved that a human nation, working on it's own with the advantage of home ground is strong enough to beat the Thalmor, and Ulfric seeks to prove it again. Make no mistake, the Thalmor will come, and when they do, we will see that Ulfric was right all along.

You all speak as if the Empire not only has the resources to beat the Thalmor, but also wants to. This simply isn't the case. As I explained, the Empire would surrender prematurely if the Thalmor were to invade again, and this time, they wouldn't be strong enough to negotiate a truce, even an unfair one. Tullius might dislike the Thalmor, but that doesn't mean the Emperor or his heirs would risk pissing them off. I speak from the viewpoint that it is better, this time around, to fight the Thalmor as seperate countries, playing to their own strengths rather than being told what to do by Cyrodill.

The matter is simply that the Empire will talk the talk and fight, but once they feel their jaws start to shut even slightly, then they will cower and back out. The Empire doesn't give a damn about Skyrim, which they proved with their failure to negotiate more realistic and fair terms with the White-Gold Concordat. They've already proven where their loyalties lie.

People are saying Balgruuf would make a better leader than Ulfric. This is completely irrelevant, because Ulfric and Elisif both have claims to the throne, but Balgruuf doesn't. So, unless the Empire where to win the war, followed by Elisif suddenly dying without an heir, Balgruuf would never get the throne. It's between Ulfric and Elisif, not Ulfric Elisif and Balgruuf.

Ulfric may seem inconsistent, but that's only in his approach to warfare, which is better described as hard to predict. Or, maybe he just though that since the war has started by the time he has killed Torygg, he couldn't just march into Whiterun and challenge Balgruuf to a duel the same way he did with Torygg. Basically, I mean that Ulfric needed to kill Torygg to start the war, because unless he did he wouldn't have a claim to the throne, and in Ulfric's eyes, and the eyes of most others, Torygg was with the Empire and represented the Empire in Skyrim. Sure, it is likely he liked Ulfric and respected his cause, but Torygg himself wouldn't be easily persuaded into seceding from the Empire, and possibly risking his head, because of the views of one Jarl (though Ulfric is arguably the most powerful Jarl, and later on, he gained the support of 3 other Jarls).