Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-26213507-20150715194939/@comment-26801133-20150908162217

Blademaster Jauffre wrote: Balgruuf IS neutral, wether you like it or not.

There are also Imperial Legionaires walking around in the Rift, bad argument.

Advice has nothing to do with being sided with them.

Hahaha, you seem to forget that not all Whiterun guards wear Imperial gear. Besides, Skyrim IS an Imperial Province, of course the other guards have Imperial gear.

Balgruuf is a neutral Hold, he send Ulfric his axe (Imperial qeustline) and even says that they are at peace if he accepts it, Ulfric however sees anybody that isn't with him against him because Ulfric is paranoid. Definition of neutral: not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartial. Whiterun attacking Stormcloak soldiers but letting Imperial soldiers walk freely speaks volumes against their so called "neutrality".

There are indeed Imperial soldiers in Stormcloak Holds(and vice versa). But they are hostile to each other. Rift guards will attack Imperial soldiers on sight, just like Reach guards will attack Stormcloak soldiers on sight. But Whiterun guards(supposedly "neutral") behave just like they are Empire controlled. That makes your argument is invalid.

True, but it is very likely that Balgruufs mind was heavily influenced from Empire supporters within his inner circle. That, combined with his rivalry with Ulfric, ultimately resulted with him leaning towards the Empire, even if he didn't officially side with them.

The majority does. And the few that doesn't (like the gate guard when you are about to enter Whiterun and the 4 soldiers that help you fight Mirmulnir), disappear after their quests. Then you will only see guards with Imperial swords and bows. And you are wrong, only the half of Skyrim that are Imperial controlled use Imperial weapons. Skyrim being an Imperial province has nothing to do with it.

While its true Ulfric has a rather paranoiac mindset when it comes to allegiances, my statement still stands. Whiterun being Imperial friendly and Stormcloak hostile gives the Empire free reign in the centre of Skyrim while the Stormcloaks can't. In other words, the Empire will have too huge of an advantage against the Stormcloaks. An advantage that could tilt towards an Imperial victory. Any war strategist would not accept these conditions(even the Imperials). Ulfric could have attacked Whiterun at anytime, as it was obvious that Balgruufs policies was more in favor to the Empire. But Ulfric, as you hear in his dialogues, is very hesitant because he does not wish for unnecessary deaths. Ulfric gave Balgruuf several chances to side with him. But Balgruuf didn't, and thus anything that happens to his Hold will be his responsibility. Same could be said if, theoretically, Balgruuf sided with the Stormcloaks and the Empire would have to regain control of it. People blame Ulfric for far too many things, it seems...