My only gripes with Oblivion is that it felt bland and cultureless. I get that the game was about portals to hell opening and whatnot, but Morrowind and Skyrim, despite my gripes about that game, did a better job of showing off the unique and detailed cultures of their respective provinces. Morrowind is pretty clunky and a bit dated, but the way it presented Morrowind's people and customs was something that felt absent from the other games.

Compared to Morrowind, Cyrodiil is a run-of-the-mill not!Central/Western Europe-centric fantasy land. I would've liked to see the pretty clear divide between Nibenean and Colovian culture, as well as the racial divide between the man races, the Argonians, and the Khajiit in Bravil and Leyawiin.

[@Kingfisher] Am I correct in assuming that all the other characters are still looking for leads on Donna Lazzari and whatnot? Would Donna Lazzari send thugs out to bully small-time drug dealers into getting under her wing so she can take a cut of their profits and bug them for protection money?

Because, if so, Redding likes to be under more laissez-faire conditions and that might mean butting heads with Lazzari, which would put him on the side of the PCs.