I've been playing Skyrim since early June.

Need some help on this quest, not sure what to do. Joining the companions and Farkus has me intimidate Nimreal at Pelagia farm, that part is no biggy, she is an easy fight. Problem is the 3 hired thugs that keep showing up and killing me. They don't seem to be part of the quest line( I cheated and looked it up), but I don't think it is a random encounter, because I loaded 4 times at the Companions hall, fast traveled to the farm and they are always walking up to the farm when I get there. What do I do? I am tempted to go back a few saves and completely skip the Companions. Input is greatly appreciated, Thanks.

Edit: Is it possible the thugs are out on a bounty run? Shortly before going back to the Companions I was up at the first dragon mound where you witness the resurrection. I then went into town and "stole" some ore and ingots by the towns mine. This is the first time I actually stole anything in the game. I also noticed that they offered to buy ore before I stole it, now the dialoge option to sell the ore is gone.

 

Yes they're on a bounty run because of your filthy filthy stealing. If you really can't kill them, you can try running from them which sometimes works - without knowing what kind of capabilities you currently have I wouldn't know how you'd go about killing them; personally I always liked Fury to make them kill each other.

 

After going to Solitude and going through the Diplomatic quest I noticed none of my items were marked as stolen when I get them all back. Travelled around Whiterun for a bit and I have seen no more hired thugs. I also started up a Wood Elf and am trying out the sneak/ranged play through. Expoited Feandal's follower training and I am at level 4 before leaving Riverwood. Time to go hit Bleak Falls Barrow I think.

 

I had the same problem with Skyrim, quote the "wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle." thing.
Having been a big fan of Oblivion, back when I was 14, I felt like I had "been there, done that", despite the new improved game engine.

I'll admit Skyrim is pretty, and sometimes you get those moments like "that was amazing", or "so immersive".

This guy raises some good points, on why Skyrim is a good game:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEI4yS7sFEw[/youtube]

I'm playing through on and off, my first character, as always I go Breton (probably the most versatile race?), I'm a stealthy magical archer-ranger. (only been using bow and spells, aside from Enchanting and Alchemy.)

Although the series isn't getting "dumber" or "simpler", games in modern times /need/ to appeal to wider audiences (casuals) if they want to sell.
Hence lack of consequences for things you do in the game, what guilds you join, etc. (compared to the consequences of Arcanum or Fallout.)

I think the games are /good/.
But the biggest annoyance I have with it is the difficulty scaling.
Doesn't matter what you do in the game, enemies will always be as dumb, and predictable, more often than not.

You're a demigod as soon as the game starts, the only reason raising skills is worthwhile is the cool ability perks they offer.
This leads to grinding, and so on. (opposed to a system I liked more, in Fallout, where kills/quests/finds got you XP, to level up and manually raise skills and perks.)

There were odd occasions when unarmed enemies would pick up nearby weapons in Oblivion, to defend themselves, but that was basically it, basic character logic, nothing relevant to the difficulty.

I think legacy games like Arcanum and Fallout appeal more with difficulty, because they were hard, REAL HARD.
But they were hard enough for you to seek detours, and explore for a reason, gaining power meant something, and beating the hard enemies felt like reward enough.

But, hard games don't appeal to casual audiences.
TES is not dumbing down, but games in general in modern times, especially RPGs, ARE appealing to more casual gamers, and are generally easier and lack consequence.

 

I guess you saw this one too then.