Am I a Stormcloak now? Relevant meme now: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/321713317221498880/534812488009777172/Meme.jpg

If I only knew as much about my school subjects as you know tes i would pass my exams 100%

Khajiit Merchants see Skyrim is in a poor state after a Stormcloak Victory and Ripe for Merchants... "Whispers" It's Free Real Estate

Even though we have our disagreements, I think the empire and the stormcloaks agree on one thing: The Thalmor suck.

Morrowind doesn't belong to the Empire anymore, one of the dunmers of Ravenrock explains that during the oblivion crisis, the Empire removed his troops from Morrowind, the house Redoran had to create a proper dark elf army, and then they banned house Hlaalu for having collaborated with the empire...

Skyrim leaving the empire = Skrexit

I wouldn't expect the Justicars to be a problem. They aren't an occupying military force, they're a small group of political commissars who can only operate because of the legal protection afforded by the White Gold Concordat. Which would no longer apply to an independent Skyrim. So if they have any sense, they'll leave to avoid getting lynched by an angry mob while the guards watch and drink mead.

Think Skyrim and the Empires relationship will kind of replicate the US and UK relations after the War of Independence.

You just gave me an Idea for a character backstory. Redguard siding with Stormcloaks so that Hammerfell has good connections with Skyrims new government.

Why would Hammerfell be overly friendly with the Empire, they basically sold the Southern part of Hammerfell to the Thalmor, forcing Hammerfell to leave the Empire to drive the Thalmor out

As someone who usually goes Stormcloak, I'm glad you took the time to make this video, with no bias. In any other video, it's a battlefield in the comment section.

My ancestors are smiling at me imperial, can you say the same?

Honestly a Stormcloak victory would be very interesting for the Elder scrolls as a series. We could play elder scrolls in a post empire era where the political situation would be similar to the fall of Rome, where even there race of imperial is rename Cyrodiilian or whatever the new short term is, and there could be more revolts in the dominion with Elsewayr and Valenwood. It would be interesting.

One thing you didn’t cover is that after red year, Skyrim gave solstheim to house redoran in morrowind to help as a relief, so the dunmeri people may have more cordial relations after the fact

Skyrim also has a large lumber supply. There's also a lot of iron deposits scattered across, so they also have iron to provide. Their proximity to the sea also has fish. They have plenty of natural resources to trade.

8:35 Ulfric doesn't show any negative thought towards the dunmer as a people. The refugees live rough, but the reason their situation hasn't been tended to is explained to be because of the war effort taking priority at the moment. You get a bad impression when entering Windhelm for the first time because you do see genuine racism. But that's the town drunk, not Ulfric. Ulfric took in the refugees within city walls, allowed them to open shops stalls, and even the chance to obtain farmland. He recognized the contention between them and the Argonians, and keep them separated to avoid bloodshed over their horrible history. As for the general Nord population, most Nords will appreciate and respect those who are hard working. Belyn Hlaalu, a dunmer owning a farm outside the city, says as much. And they will probably not respect those who don't.. and unfortunately it seems at least quite a few dunmer within the city sees working for and with Nords as something beneath them to be ashamed of. At least if Faryl Atheron's words are something to go by. He says he hopes no one from the city sees him out working the farm, and that his brother is ashamed of him working for a Nord.

Very much a stormcloak supporter. Their cause is just and the Imperials are essentially collaborators of the truly vile Thalmor. I could see High Rock and Hammerfell allying themselves with Skyrim and Morrowind establishing a peaceful relationship while covertly supporting Skyrim in any conflicts with the Thalmor.

I just wanna be worshipped

I realise this is a odd video But I just wanted to say something... If the stormcloaks won the Civil War in Canon that means that they have the last dragonborn.... In canon the bend will shout from the dragonborn DLC Is much more powerful than in game mechanics.... The stormcloaks could have the very 1st Air Force of the elder scrolls series And exterminate the high elfs

I think it's smart of Ulfric to keep Elisif in power. He never really had any real ally in Solitude, so it eases the transition.

I think this was a very well thought out video that set out all variables a Stormcloak Government would need to overcome in the days following the establishment of an independent country. This video pretty much lines up with my own ideal scenario for a post Skyrim Civil War setting and would most certainly be the course that my Stormcloak Dragonborn would champion. I would like to thank the producer of this video for creating it to be as well as it came out.

While it’s makes more practical sense for Skyrim to stay with the Empire, a Stormcloak victory makes for many more story possibilities.

I don't see the Stormcloaks taking on the Aldmeri Dominion without the Dragonborn doing 99% of the fighting. I hope if a Stormcloak victory is cannon they don't start a war after the civil war.

Man by the end of the video you have earned our heart. Don't worry too much you've made a hell of a video my friend. *Applauds*

9:35 yeah.... That’s TOTALLY the reason why the Dominion wouldn’t want to work with us... definitely not the fact that they despise anything non-elf.

Talos is a god though

Honestly idk if Ulfric would be willing to put someone like Balgruuf in a position as a diplomat it wouldn't seem like the smartest idea in regard s to internal stability Balgruuf might start making back door deals with the empire to reclaim his throne in Whiterun and restore imperial rule to Skyrim

I often compare Skyrim with the situation in my homeland in real life (we had a civil war some 25 years ago and from one war collapsed into quite a few tiny states) - over time, we didn't reunite, despite all the similarities that we had, but instead the relations are improving and you can say that now we are friendly nations. People still like each other despite the hardships - it's only governments that spice things up. But anyways, over time, everyone accepted the current status quo and have made peace with the fact that, while we may not be united anymore, we can at least be friendly to each other (we are often the first ones to help each other during calamities, such as floods and earthquakes) Sorry if I am politicising it a bit, but it's just how I see and compare the Skyrim civil war, as well as the overall collapse of the Tamrielic Empire

Although I personally like the Stormcloaks, having been a largely Nord player since I first played an Elder Scrolls game (Oblivion), I long ago accepted that ultimate Stormcloak Victory would be highly unlikely an outcome. Does that mean that any books on the subject in ES 6 and onward will universally accept the Imperial Campaign canon? I doubt it. When it comes to faction whatnot, the Elder Scrolls generally tends to be a little vague. I expect a line about the Skyrim Civil War going something to the effect: "The Imperial Army and the Stormcloaks fought fiercely, each nearly defeating the other several times, but ultimately the Empire prevailed." As for Ulfric hating the Empire...If I may point out that the man tried, several times in fact, to work with the Empire. Yet every time he'd try to get the concessions he'd negotiated for, he'd be denied. If anything, I'd say Ulfric has great respect for the Imperial Legions and the Empire as a whole....certainly more respect for the Imperials than the Imperials have for him.

The thing that makes Skyrim different is that the protagonist actually is just there by the end. You come back from Sovengard, you don't get influenced and controlled by Hermaous Mora, you stop the Volkihar vampires. So you resolve everything and just are in Skyrim afterwards. I mean depending on the race the Dragonborn actually is I mean they could potentially exist for a few hundred years. And you can't tell me the Dragonborn wouldn't have a huge influence in Tamriel after doing so much and basically becoming a living God in the process. All the other games had a conclusion more or less for your character. But Skyrim doesn't have your character going off somewhere to never be seen again, or die. You just become basically the most powerful being in your time and you solve every major issue in the world at that time. It really will be interesting to see what happens canon wise because they can't just ignore the dragonborn in the lore at this point

For real world parallels, I'd point to the United States after the American Revolution. Great Britain remained a major trading partner, and the Federalist Party, which was the first party to hold power, generally favored Britain and was even prepared to go to war with France. So I suspect that some relations between Skyrim and the Empire would be maintained, even if Ulfric himself isn't involved.

Something I've always asked myself about a stormcloak victory how does that affect the relationship between the imperial government and it's territory of high rock would lack of direct paths to the province lead it to slipping away or would it simply be even more autonomous and simply stay within the empire

The Stormcloaks never intended to win a war against the Empire, they just need to make one so costly that the Empire pulls out.

Thanks for the video. I know your strong views on this, so as a Stormcloak supporter I very much appreciate your effort.^ I do think Ulfric would seek to ally with the Empire and Hammerfell after a hypothetical victory. They need each other against the Dominion. But not only that, his rebellion wasn't about waring against the Empire. It was about sovereignty as a solution to what he sees as Skyrim loosing it's identity and self-respect under an Empire having them make too many sacrifices in its name. Talos is the reason Skyrim joined that empire, and their identity with that Empire was lost when it asked them to forsake him (at least in Ulfric's eyes). If the Empire, whatever form it takes now that the Emperor is assassinated, will recognize Ulfric's Skyrim as an independent sovereign state- I have no problem believing he will get right to negotiating an alliance with the other neighboring states.

Ulfric in the thumbnail: hi everyone!

We should have a Elder Scrolls Day every year so when we get into History class our History teachers teach us about 1 event in The Elder Scrolls like The Great War or the fall of the Alyeid Empire

Hail Ulfric Stormcloak

Great video!

"Stole Skyrim" - you mean *took it back*.

If the Stormcloacks win, there won’t be no empire left, the dominion includes Elseweyr and Valenwood, Blackmarsh has gone feral, Morrowind is blown up, so basically what we have left of the “Empire” is Cyrodiil, Skyrim and High Rock.

4:20 5:20 Uh, Hammerfell kicked the Empire out of their province, too. In addition, High Rock is in an uneasy position with the Empire as is seen with Ulfric bothering to try and convince them to join his side.

It isn't about geopolitics. It's about liberty and religious freedom, it's about standing tall against men's ancient foe that goes all the way back to the beginning of recorded history; man and mer have always been pitted against one another. Its like the whole Anu/Padomay thing. These men would rather die proudly on their own two feet, worshipping who they please, governing themselves, than live on their knees. It's a matter of pride.

The Empire needs to push the Argonians out of Morrowind and then convince them to join the empire if they arent already

I personally agree with the Empire, but I sort of hope the Stormcloaks win. I think they're somewhat of a chekhov's gun for ES6. If they failed, what was the point of putting them in the game?

I think one thing that is probably being overlooked is who does the Dragonborn side with depending on who the Dragonborn side with would decide who wins. Now let's say that the Dragonborn is a Nord and sides with the Stormcloaks, that would guarantee their win. As for why, number one, the Dragonborn defeats Alduin which intimidates all the other dragons. Number Two the Dragonborn doe's defeat Miraak which gives him the ability to bend dragons to his will, which it's safe to say the Dragonborn would do that to the rest of the dragons. Which brings us to number three Skyrim would then have an army of dragon riding Nords which would give them a little bit of an advantage in my opinion. Alas if the Dragonborn is an imperial and sides with the Empire that would guarantee their win and give the Empire an army of dragons to ride on fighting the Aldmeri Dominion. I digress though since I have done no Research into this matter and this is simply my opinion on the subject.

Dude you did good don't worry this was an excellent video

man i really love your video

Silver and gold are key parts of ancient economic systems. Prior to the creation of a purely paper money system backed by faith in the credit of a nation which we have had for the past hundred years or so, the actual silver or gold content of your coinage was extremely important. Study the Romans as their power waxed or waned their denarii got bigger or smaller which also influenced the purchasing power of each Roman coin with some denarii ending up being worth more than other denarii simply based on size. Denarii being primarily silver and being the most commonly used coin across the empire meant that the availability of easily struck silver for coinage was paramount for the functioning of the state. In fact when they entirely replaced the denarii with a new currency in the later part of the empire the writing was on the wall as to the likely survival of the empire at least the Western half of it. Silver doesn't sound like an absolute need for a nation, but silver and gold bullion have always been the cornerstones of a healthy state prior to the last two centuries and as such the Mede Empire would likely want a strong trade relation in the extremely unlikely event of a Stormcloak victory to ensure access to the large silver and gold mines in Skyrim as well as access to the noted availability of steel. So the basis for even a reworking of the current relationship to allow a semi-independent Skyrim in an alliance with the Empire makes sense if you get past the rather absurd arguments for Skyrim winning it's independence in the first place. The Empire would want the silver and gold for striking coins alone and they would also want the pure hatred that the Nords have for the Dominion to keep flowing into the Legions. So the groundwork for a new deal is there.

Love the Channel but this is my favorite video of yours. Thanks for walking down the road less traveled by Elder Scrolls you tubers. Damn faithless imperials 😁

I honestly believe that Ulfric will accept national laws, the easy way to learn from the enemy is to know the enemy, obviously, this is the functionality of his laws in order to generally make Skyrim representative to even the citizens. These laws can be used against or with the nation which is why allowing the Justicars to remain in Skyrim is a good decision, it can represent the instability of your government but obviously not to prove it, so the problems can come from anywhere - which given the slogan for national laws can identify the enemy without declaring war on them.

Another great video from the best ES lore youtuber (according to me).

Empire Fans: *Triggered*

I support the Dragonborn killing the Emperor and Motierrre and claiming the throne for himself.

We need to show this to your professor

I feel like it could be similar to ww2 where it is hammerfell, skyrim, morrowind, highrock and, the empire vs elwyre and the dominion with places like black marsh being neutral

i thought Bethesda said somewhere that the cannon ending has the stormcloaks winning and the Emperor is dead? (b/c of the dark brotherhood quest since all faction quest are completed either by the hero or unnamed person.)

The Empire trys to behead you if the dragonborn had free will and not being controlled by the player he or she will aways choose stormcloak and the dragonborn is all the stormcloaks need to win Skyrim. plus a 5 way free for all is more interesting in the next game

i could see bulgruuf getting power back in whiterun with the trade union due to popularity and the a,bassitor reason

My headcanon is that Dragonborn overthrows Ulfric (either Dragonborn wins the king's moot or kills him Torygg style) and is universally accepted throughout Skyrim and reforms a new Empire from Skyrim. 😗

I don't see why skyrim couldn't become friends with the empire look at America and the British

Ulfric wouldn't need to worry about convincing any Imperial Jarls to support his claim since if the stormcloaks were victorious, all the Imperial jarls would've been replaced by stormcloak jarls (i.e. Vignar Gray-Mane replacing Balgruuf in Whiterun or Maven Black-Briar replacing Laila Law-Giver in Riften) since Ulfric needs unanimous approval from all Jarls during the Moot to be confirmed as High King.

I saw this point from a meme. Pretty much, when the Civil War began, Titus Mede II should’ve let Skyrim cede, because there’s still the overwhelming half of Skyrim (and or Balgruuf) who stay loyal to the Empire, meaning that both economically, we politically, they would likely stay on the same page.

I don't even think that this as the optimistic outcome, but rather the realistic outcome. Besides the thalmor bit, that's ending in a second great war. the thalmor would either spiral in a great war or be extremely hostile for the time being, I can even imagine the small thalmor holdings (such as the fort and embassy) being raided by the stormcloacks in a fit of rage. Otherwise, this is probably extremely accurate

As a Stormcloak supporter, I thank you for making a fair and unbiased synopsis of what would happen in a best case scenario for a Stormcloak victory.

Once we are done with the empire their elven masters are next

Hey could conquer roscrea if they so desired not sure if it would be valuable but would be a location of expansion.

Genuinely if I was the thalmor I would secretly fund the stormcloaks it leaves the empire split and they either have to accept skyrims loss or straight up escalate the war and invade both leaving the thalmor in a great position to attack cyrodill

Can't forget about the dragonborn you know I just imagine him going around bending Wills of dragons and crating a armyand I feel like the dragonborn would go with the stormcloaks just because the imperials did try to execute him at all just for trying to enter the country

Dark Elves will make Morrowind great again, we hate it in Skyrim. As soon as that dust cloud over Red Mountain settles we're going back

Just the kind of video I need! Where's the Mead?!

Who would have won without the dragonborn's help ? Now that's a good question .

Thanks for making this video! Glad to see a realistic prediction on a stormcloak victory!

I used to really like the empire. The Septim empire. The current empire is a shell of its former self. I have no love or respect for them at this point. I am in full support of Skyrim winning the Civil War and Ulfric becoming high king. He rightfully earned that position. However, I do not agree with Skyrim being completely independent. They need strong allies and resources. I am not against working with the empire. We need an alliance to overthrow those bastard elves anyway.

Modernist lore: Teacher: White bad. Brown good. White bad. Brown good. Kids: White bad. Brown good! Videogame: White not bad. Adults: ?!

i think seeing the map all split up like that is pretty cool in terms of set-up for another game. Could have like an all out faction-warfare as the main plotline to establish a new empire, whether it's thalmor, some kind of imperialist Skyrim or hammerfell, or the empire trying to restore it's former glory.

hammerfell is independent in the 4th era, When Titus Mede I took the throne, the Empire was nothing like what it used to be. The province of Black Marsh seceded from the Empire following the Oblivion Crisis,[32] and Morrowind was largely destroyed,[32] with only the most western portion being ruled by the Dunmer and the south being taken over by the now-independent Argonians. In the wake of the Oblivion Crisis, the Thalmor convinced the Altmer of the Summerset Isles that they were their saviors from the Daedra invasion and consolidated their power.[33] In 4E 29, the government of Valenwood was overthrown by Thalmor collaborators and a union with Alinor proclaimed. Thus was the Aldmeri Dominion reborn.[32] Leyawiin and Bravil had become independent city-states, and were constantly at war with one another.[34] Elsweyr had declared independence and turned into the ancient kingdoms of Anequina and Pelletine.[35] The Empire's ineffectual protection and seeming indifference to Morrowind's plights made them reviled by the Dunmer. After the Empire "released its grasp" on Morrowind, House Hlaalu, the last Imperial ally in the province, was ousted from the Grand Council,[36] and Morrowind left the Empire,[35] as had Hammerfell.[35] Additionally, it is implied that High Rock had also left the Empire,[35] leaving it with Skyrim and most of Cyrodiil.

High Rock likely isn’t going to be with the Empire for long, so it wouldn’t be too unlikely for Skyrim, High Rock, Hammerfell, and possibly even Orsinium to create an alliance against the Thalmor. Whether that would last or not afterwards is up for debate, but it always could. Either way, the idea of the entire northwestern portion of Tamriel vs the Thalmor is a sight I’d love see.

Just ran across this video. I think the biggest factor in what an Independent Skyrim would be like is whether or not they have enough resources to be self sufficient. I mean obviously because of game mechanics we can see they have the ability to be self sufficient, but just how many resources do they truly have available is the question since most of what we run across in game is rather finite and not nearly enough to actually be self sufficient. Also do they return to piracy and raiding to get more resources if they do not have enough to be self sufficient?

The elves don’t have the military strength to take the empire anymore. It would take Less than 20 years for the empire to renew its military. something tells me it takes a lot longer for a high elf to mature and be trained. The elves would lose a second great war, which is why they are resorting to subterfuge and intrigue.

I mean... To support the thing about Skyrim allying with Hammerfell without the Empire, the Empire _did_ kind of abandon them after they said “fuck you” to the White-Gold Concordat and kept fighting the Thalmor.

I’ve always been back and forth on which side I support, and honestly I probably lean Stormcloak because of the whole religious freedom thing, and I mean, I think of a foreign country came to America and said people couldn’t be Christian anymore, people would be pretty pissed. And rightfully so. That’s just an example I don’t want to start a political debate. But I also get that the Empire wants to just keep the peace until the strength builds back up so they can all go beat the Thalmor. But when you sit at the Stormcloak camps you can see the Empire is clearly lying when they say the line “what the rebels like to forget is the Empire is what’s keeping the dominion out of Skyrim” I mean obviously it’s not true cuz they have a whole embassy in Skyrim and the justiciars walk around everywhere but some Stormcloak soldiers talk about how their cousin disappeared in the night and soon after that’s when they joined Ulfric. Idk tho I like both sides they both have pros and cons but I don’t think the Stormcloaks are as hopeless as hardcore Imperial supporters say they are

So…. The Redguards, the Nords, the Imperials, the Wood Elves, and the Dunmer are united in their hatred of the Thalmor? Maybe use that?

good Stuff

As a Stormcloak supporter, i like this video, but one thing that i wonder is if you really think that treaty-enforcers within Skyrim would really be a problem. If there is one thing that all people in Skyrim will probably agree on then it is that these guys are trash which would lead to some top-tier purges inside the cities and the embassy would probably be raided or even destroyed. This would cause a diplomatic crisis, but it is not like Skyrim under Ulfric ever intended for good relationship with the Thalmor. You also mention briefly that "the thalmor could send more enforcers" which i highly doubt due to their lack of acces to a harbour. And i wonder if they would be able to launch a full-scale invasion of Skyrim (like some imperials seem to believe), when they dont control the sea of ghosts or the abyssian sea and have to be just as afraid of an imperial attack on the border as the empire is of them

Ulfric would have pretty good relationships with morrowind, at least with Redoran's part of morrowind since, for starters, Morrowind hates the Empire for abbandoning them during the Oblivion crisis. On top of that Ulfric is the ONLY Jarl accepting refugees, for as much talk of racism ppl do in game, i dont see the other jarls donating 1/3 of their city exclusively to refugees (tax free btw). Also Ulfric is clearly keeping very friendly relationships with Morrowind since the only way to reach Solsheim is through Windhelm's port, it's not like the Empire has no other choice but to use Windhelm's port, Solitude has massive port too, but for some reason the Redoran house removed everything belonging to the Empire from their books including Empire trade rules, to the point where East Empire Company coins have become a collectionist item in Morrowind since they are actively hunted and destroyed by the higher ups. So as soon as Skyrim becomes independent they can restart the Ebonheart pact and get a fairly good support from Morrowind, something the Empire would not have access to.

If the dragonborn sided with him then i think that is something that could have enormous cultural implications for how the uprising is perceived across tamreil. Not even mentioning that feels intellectually dishonest.

My Mercenary Orc Dragonborn joined the stormcloaks. He liked Ulfric, and decided to support him. He doesn't necessarily care if the outcome is good or not. If anything, if it ends badly, that just means more Mercenary work for him. XD very selfish of him, I know.

Lol you think my boy Tullius will fail? Think again

After losing Hammerfell, I really doubt the empire is not going to want to lose another region of Tamriel. My expectancy is for them to send ACTUAL legions, of TRAINED troops, you know ELITE soldiers against you know, the farm hands and merchants that make up the Stormcloak army...

Skyrim already has it laws in order if you think about it. Criminal law like stealing and murder is in hold jurisdiction, meanwhile religious freedom is a province law. that's why ulfric sees his war as justified defence of religious freedom, meanwhile dunmer are not prosecuted for worshiping good daedra, even other deadra like mehrun dagon seems to be tolerated with huge statue on the side of the mountain and a museum in Dawnstar.

But the pro imperial Jarls are replaced with pro stormcloak Jarls if the stormcloaks win.

I think you're treating Skyrim under the Stormcloaks as too much like a modern nation state and less like the feudal style place it is/would be.

I've always played a nord so I jumped at the opportunity of a free skyrim. I'm also Celtic so we have a long bloody history with a certain European "empire" hint hint. Ulgric isn't perfect and I dislike his treatment of the dark elves but I believe an organization of free states would go better against the high elves.

oh this gonna be intresting

Sky Realm is the Nords Homeland cyrodiil is the Imperials Homeland

I fever the Empire since I played oblivion to be the winning side but just by a bit because I really understand the stormcloak side why they rebel. But if you have me pick I hope the stormcloaks win because I see a lot more potential lore wise. What I Like to see is with the stormcloak victory and the death of Titus Mead II that the Empire will fall apart. Cyrodill will start having his own cival wars because a lot of people will want to be Emperor. This would mean that the Empire's influence will dwingel and eventually fall apart with the Kingdoms of Highrock starring to rule them self more and more because the Empire is fighting itself in Cyrodill. More and more county's would start governing on them self and slowly especially in the south fall to the overwhelming power of the dominion. Some others will stant together or, what I would like to see, Bruma joining the Kingdom of Skyrim because they see that as the best way to survive. With this set there is much potential to let the human kingdoms join together and even tray to form a 4th empire to fight the altmery dominion wich is slowly taking over cyrodill and planning to attack the rest as well

The imperials fight for a piece of land the stromcloaks fight for there beliefs

I respect your video I know it's hard to not be bias but good on you. Being bias is human nature and it's hard to break so good on you for trying nice video.

I appreciate that video and I do agree you're oversimplifying the Stormcloak point of view, although you make some really good points. One of the main reasons I think the rebellion might be the right option for Skyrim is the Hammerfell precedent. 1) The Empire was so quick to betray Hammerfell and just hand it to the Aldmeri Dominion, which would make the situation there terrible for the people. That act alone makes it really difficult for me to morally side with the Empire. 2) Hammerfell rightfully rebelled against that decision and successfully fought for their independence and drove the Thalmor away. It stands to argue, if they can do it, so could Skyrim(Skyrim isn't any weaker than Hammerfell). Even more, that would make them allies, sharing common political fate. And in general, the game makes it really hard to sympathise with the Empire, even though they might be the pragmatically better option. They often come off arrogant, disregarding the Nords and their culture, mocking and insulting them and their values, etc. Furthermore, Stormcloaks are more fun from a gameplay perspective. You get to legally slaughter Thalmor agents and not let them terrorise Skyrim's people. And that's a personal preference, but their aesthetics and vibe are clores to my preferences. I like everything Nordic and Scandinavian, they remind me of the Starks from GoT, who I think are much cooler than the Lanisters and even the colour-coding, I usually take the blue side: Ravenclaw, the NCR, Team Mystic, Democracy, etc. With all that being said and my obvious bias towards the Stormcloaks, I still think the Empire is the pragmatically better option, because of economic reasons, cultural diversity and military strength(potential to drive out the Thalmor) + I really dislike Ulfric's short-sidedness, impulsiveness and racism and jarl Balgruuf is my favourite jarl - much wiser and more diplomatic leader.

If we all think about it the red guards beat the Dominion the Nords are actually they're basically born as Warriors so if the red guards can defeat the Dominion surely the Nords of Skyrim could as well