Pylonicus

I don't even understand why so many people in Skyrim think Ulfric would be a good leader. Have you been to Windhelm? That place is governed comically bad. Rampant racism, hostile work rivalries, incompetent police, barely investigated murders, violent citizens, near slavery, and a ruler that is totally preoccupied with another issue rendering him entirely incapable of aiding his own city. Yeah, that's totally the guy I want ruling a nation, the guy that is responsible for a city where almost nobody is happy in any sense of the word. Even if he wasn't basically a huge racist bully, he's still just a terrible ruler. I'd support any movement to prevent his rule.

At the end of the day, I'm pretty anti-apocalypse. I know, I know, it might not be the most conventional opinion this day and age, but the idea of everything ever created in the beautifully unregulated petri dish of whatever universe cause-and-effect is residing in coming to a sudden and complete end kinda bums me out. I like my life and the world around me, thank you very much. I'd like to keep it. If that makes me shallow, I'd rather be shallow and romantic than deep and suicidal. Also, the "turn back time to start anew" is a terribly old logical fallacy. Just because you start over does not mean the situation will not devolve again, nor does it mean it will be any different. If something can go wrong, something will go wrong, such is the way of infinity. Turning back the clock is just prevention of the inevitable, and it's at the sacrifice of all gloriously unique creativity and effort spent by billions of minds and hands over a vast period of time. To take agency over all of that is incomprehensible, and I do not see any situation whatsoever where it is just or fair. It is no one's place, let them be man, mer, or god, to have say over the unique and creative influences of all living existence; past, present, and future. So, I can't support the Thalmor's ultimate goal under any circumstances. I see their cause as despicable, self-serving, and abhorrent. They're bullies in the largest way possible. Also, on a practical level, they're just straight-up jerks. Militant religious views and extremely cruel and inconsiderate practices do not inspire sympathy. They only care for their own advancement and ideology, even if they convince themselves that their overarching goal is preferable for every creature to have ever lived, they just don't know it yet. I sympathize with the plight of mer, and I understand their motives and desires. However, that does not mean I find any of their actions acceptable, nor do I find them to be much of an underdog. Pretty hard to love, really easy to hate.

I always thought of the Independent ending as the most romantic and possibly satisfying, but not the most realistic, intelligent or forward-thinking solution. It is nice to know that the immediate future of the Mojave in be in the hands of someone you trust (yourself), and it feels good to seize dominance over the other factions who all have some crucial flaw, but it's an incredibly short term and unreliable remedy. You are just a brain-damaged courier, after all. From an RP standpoint, I have no reason to believe my courier would at all be capable of managing the majority of brute power in the Mojave, nor is my character experienced as a leader or diplomat. My courier isn't even that experienced with casual life in the Wasteland or the inner systems of the Wasteland, as s/he basically fell off the turnip truck and just started wandering around the desert passive-aggressively shooting people and wildlife to a morally ambiguous code. Also, I really have no idea how long the Courier's got left. Given the tribulations s/he's been through, I won't think s/he has a long, full life ahead of them. Not many in the Wasteland do. As for Yesman, I don't really see any reason to expect him going all Skynet on everyone, but I have no assurance that it won't, either. Another dreadful "all eggs in one basket" situation. Even so, I'm more worried about the Courier's stability and longevity than Yesman's. Yesman is a robot, and is predictable. The Courier is brain-addled and murderous (in most playthroughs). Considering the tone of New Vegas, I prefer to go with the more realistic choice than the romantic and immediately satisfying one. Reality is harsh, but so is the Wasteland.

I'd have to ultimately go with NCR, although I do have a bit of a leaning towards Mr. House as well. I don't have much faith in the independent option, and I think it's painfully obvious that the Legion is a terrible, terrible idea. I'll start with Mr. House. The major upside to House is that he promises security and ultimately has the best wishes for mankind. He wants everything to work, and he wants society to advance the best it can. Best of all, he has a plan. He's a genius that was able to cheat death itself, and save thousands of lives along with his own from a destruction of a nuclear holocaust. He may not really care for individual lives, and he may not care about the smaller picture, but he is the absolute most efficient and safe shot for the bigger picture to flourish. He is, simply put, humanity's best shot for prosperity. The problem is that he's all the eggs in one basket. You are giving ludicrous power all to one man; well, half man, half computer. An immortal genius, granted, but not foolproof. We know that he's failed once already, sent into a comma for a century. If anything --anything at all-- were to go wrong, everything would fall into ruins. The primary ruler of the Mojave would be gone in an instant, leaving a huge amount of power up for grabs. It could lead to someone much worse and much more chaotic having massive power, or it could lead to a loss of the monopoly on power entirely, which would basically put the Mojave back at square one. In short, Mr. House would be a fantastic dictator, and is the absolute best man for the job of controlling the Mojave. There is no one else as stable and collected and able to lead than him. But he's still a single dictator, and if anything were to happen to him, everything would fall apart. And when I saw if anything would happen to him, I include the possibility of him deciding to turn against humanity's best interest in favor of his own, which he would undoubtedly due if that was ever the case. Keep in mind that the Courier would really have no power to object, and would certainly be destroyed without a second's hesitation if s/he became more of a liability than an asset to Mr. House. Scary to think of. An independent New Vegas is very similar to the house ending, except that the Courier is not an immortal super genius. I personally do not like this ending, because I do not think that a random, murderous, brain-damaged courier that muscles his/her way into extreme power, whether or not they carry a heart of gold, would be a good leader. I do not trust the Courier, no matter how I role play them, to rule the Mojave and to hold the massive power that it grants. The Courier is a foreigner, only recently developing new memories, and is incredibly unstable. Even if the Courier has completed countless humanitarian efforts across the wasteland, the Courier is simply inexperienced and unfit to lead. It's like giving nukes to a toddler, like handing the mayor's office to a newcomer to the city. Not to mention that the Courier is leaving a devastatingly dangerous loose-end, the Yes Man. Even if the Yes man never turns on the Courier and is completely complacent to all of his/her desires and orders, there is the terrifying possibility that the Courier is killed, or just dies without destroying Yes Man. If the Courier, for whatever reason, looses complete control of Yes Man, which would be pretty easy to do considering how easy he was transferred out of Benny's hands into the Courier's, it'd be just like House dying, everything would devolve into chaos. An independent Vegas is just like the House ending, except instead of leaving an immortal genius in change, you're leaving a brain-damaged wanderer who stumbled into town with plots of revenge in charge. Not a good choice. There's always the issue of putting all your eggs into one basket. This is exactly why I prefer the NCR ending. You're leaving the fate of the Mojave in the hands of a relatively honest democracy. A democracy with all its kinks. The NCR is stretched too far, the NCR has been forced to favor special interest over the common citizen given its struggling situation, and the NCR has been noted to have internal squabbling and conflicts, but the NCR is still a functioning democracy. They are the long term solution, they are the only solution where something can go wrong, and still work. No one has a true monopoly, and the separation of powers is strong. They're weak, but with this new extended power, they can become stronger. They would be less reliant on special interest, and would have more forces to carry out order and humanitarian aid. More doctors to help refugees, more patrols to stave off gangs, raiders, and wildlife. They are, ultimately, the safest choice, they have a relatively fail-safe plan. You're dividing your eggs across a plethora of baskets. It is much, much harder for a democracy to implode than a dictatorship, and that's what the Mojave needs. Not a get-rich-quick scheme, but a slow, long-term solution, one that watches its own back. As much as some hate to believe it, bureaucracy is what the Wasteland needs most. It's far too unstable and chaotic for anything else. They're interested in building up society in safe, mostly honest ways, and are willing to lend an ear to everyone. They aren't going to kill peaceful dissenters, and --I can't stress this enough-- they aren't going to put all the money on one hand. House wants to put all his money on a damn good hand, but not an unbeatable one, while Yes Man and the Courier want to put all their money on their hand, but they don't even know how to play the game. I want the the multiple people to govern, not just one person. So, NCR. Although, the NCR has some worrisome implications. Most notable is their disregard for smaller fringe towns like Goodsprings. However, it's not like they're any worse off than before NCR control. Also, I dislike the NCR's clashes with the Followers of the Apocalypse, which I think are the only other real hope for the Wasteland, as they seem to be the only other faction even vaguely concerned with sustainability and indiscriminate aid. The NCR kicking them out of the Fort of Mormon is a big step backwards. I really wish there was just a way to side with the FoA. Frankly, I don't get all the love for the Brotherhood of Steel. Yeah, it feels bad to wipe them of the face of the Wasteland, but it's not like anyone will miss them. They're hostile, intolerant, dogmatic, pretentious, and are only really concern about the preservation of technology if they're the ones preserving it. The quasi-religious element is creepy as well. They could all rot in their bunker for all I care. As for the Legion, I don't see how anyone could honestly support them. Rampart misogyny, slavery, and brutal violence. They're completely self-serving, and their entire organization is built on following one crazy guy flirting with death. Oh, and the second-in-command is a sadistic psychopath. I honestly can't find any benefit from the Legion being in charge to literally anyone, including the Legion itself.