Thalmor Justiciar (Skyrim)

Thalmor Justiciars are roving groups of Thalmor who are occasionally met while traveling the roads. They consist of both mages and soldiers, but all share the name Thalmor Justiciar.

Should the Dragonborn converse with the Justiciar, they will have the option of saying whether or not they worship Talos. If they say that they do, the Justiciar will immediately turn hostile. Should they remain neutral on the subject, the Thalmor will assume the Dragonborn is hiding the fact that they are cooperating with the worship of Talos and turn hostile. The only way to avoid combat is to cancel conversation if things are turning accusational, or to exclaim a dislike for Talos. If the Dragonborn enters conversation with a Thalmor Justiciar twice, the second conversation will always end with the Justiciar deciding to attack the Dragonborn, regardless of the dialogue option chosen.

Escorting prisoners
Justiciars may occasionally be escorting a Nord, presumably a Talos worshipper. The prisoner may be freed by starting a dialogue, which also allows for trading items. The Justiciars will immediately become hostile towards the Dragonborn, the prisoner, and any followers. Killing the Justiciars after they become hostile does not gain a bounty. After the Justiciars are dead, the freed prisoner will make his way to Windhelm.

Thalmor Justiciars can be sent to kill the Dragonborn. This will start to happen when the Dragonborn has completed the quest "Diplomatic Immunity." They can also be sent if the Dragonborn has attacked Northwatch Keep or if the Dragonborn has attacked Thalmor justiciars roaming Skyrim. They may also attack the Dragonborn after killing Ancano during The Eye of Magnus. Prior to the completion of these quests, only the "assassin" squads sent specifically to hunt the Dragonborn will be hostile on sight; regular Thalmor squads will initially be neutral to the Dragonborn.

Behavior
Thalmor Justiciars often travel in small groups. During lower level they often can be seen wearing Elven armor or Elven light armor and using iron weapons, but at higher levels they equip glass armor and weapons. The mages always wear Hooded Thalmor robes.

If hostile, they will quickly attack the Dragonborn with their weapons and often fire spells. The mages will then support the soldiers from behind with shock and fire spells. They may prove difficult to defeat due to their numbers and surrounding of the Dragonborn during combat.

Quotes

 * "Behold, the future! Behold, the Thalmor!"
 * "Foolish human! Your time is at its end!"
 * "Nord beast! Both your life and your lands are now forfeit!" —If the Dragonborn is a Nord
 * "Pathetic human!"
 * "Soon, all Nords will be thrall to the Thalmor!"
 * "You are but a dog, and I am your master!"
 * "Time for you humans to learn your place!"
 * "Don't you see?! Elven supremacy is the only truth!"
 * "On your knees, worm!"
 * "Death is the only way out of your misery!"
 * "Long live the Aldmeri Dominion!"
 * "The justiciars know your face. And we elves have long memories..."
 * "Hmm... I don't like you. I think you're a heretic. And so you will die a heretic's death."
 * "Pathetic excuse for an elf!" —If the Dragonborn is an elf and cancelled out dialogue during the first interaction
 * "Suffering to all mankind!" —During combat

Trivia

 * Attacking and/or killing Justiciars that were not previously hostile will lead to a bounty in the hold where the attack took place. Even if all witnesses are eliminated and there is no bounty, the Hold Guards where the attack took place may nevertheless become hostile (this may be a bug).
 * The Justiciars may also attack immediately if the Dragonborn is wearing an Amulet of Talos.
 * This is an easy way to obtain high elf blood for the quest Discerning the Transmundane.
 * Attacking and/or killing Justiciars that were not previously hostile may lead to Elrindir in The Drunken Huntsman, and people in Dragonsreach, attacking the Dragonborn. Free the prisoner first to avoid this.
 * They may be found taking Northwatch Prisoners to Northwatch Keep.
 * Thalmor Justiciars hold a role of enforcing laws within the Aldmeri Dominion.
 * Their hostility is triggered by their factions and low relationship rank, if one modified it through console commands, all their dialogues will not trigger hostility.
 * Justiciar mages use only Shock and Fire-based magic against the player, as well as Flame Atronachs and/or Storm Atronachs, and will commonly utilize a Ward in combat. Justiciar foot soldiers use only Flames, wards, and occasionally Bound Swords if they do not have a weapon already in their inventory.

Bugs

 * The Thalmor may send an execution team out for the Dragonborn even if they have not done anything to them (i.e. have not attacked their patrols, rescued Thorald Gray-Mane, or started Diplomatic Immunity).
 * They may attack without provocation, and killing them acquires a bounty.
 * Random Thalmor patrols (with or without an accompanying prisoner) may attack on sight if one has a bounty in the particular Hold that the Justiciars are encountered in. Paying off said bounty will stop aggression on their part.