Hmm. One thing I think New Vegas had, when compared to 3, is realism. Or, at least, somewhat more of an illusion of realism... The lack of people notwithstanding (I always imagined the world to have a lot more people in it than it did... :( Did the same thing for Skyrim. How could there be over a hundred bandits in a single Hold and less than half that in non-hostile inhabitants? Imagination is all we non-modders have).

Anyway, BethSoft might not have the same grasp of realism, or their setting might not be as conducive to that realism as the Mojave was (seeing as the whole point about the Mojave was that House deflected most of the bombs, and there wasn't near as much damage as there could have been)... So, in the question of whether the Commonwealth is more similar to the Mojave or to the Capital Wasteland, I'm going to hazard a guess and say the Capital. Less food, less access to clean water (in NV there was an entirely pure [i]lake![/i]), eating Salisbury Steak and Sugar Bombs instead of Brahman Wellington, Bighorner Steaks and Prickly Pears...