Aelia: How much RAM does your system have? If you have 4GB+, consider getting the "Skyrim 4GB". It's not necessarily a mod, rather a fixed exe of sorts that allows Skyrim to utilize more of the RAM on your system. By default, it is limited to using 2GB(and 4GB is the max it can use, since it uses 32-bit libraries, or so I understood). I can't explain to you exactly why this helps, since I'm not that much of a techy, but it stopped my random crashes(which could happen multiple times /hour) completely. Haven't had a single one since.
I got it from TES Nexus, where all the mods are, as I recall. I just saved the files into a folder on my desktop, and when I play skyrim, I start up Steam client, and then run the Skyrim 4GB exe instead of booting it through Steam. If you don't use Steam, I guess that step is unnecessary.
Regarding Skyrim itself, I have 2 issues with it so far:
1. Lack of scalability in magic. Sure, being able to make your own spells makes it possible to create some pretty munchkin magic on casters, but I dislike the fact that at level 30 I am still more or less utilizing the same spells as I did at level 10...just takes longer for the enemies to fall, since they start having more HP.
2. Dragons. Don't get me wrong, I think they are very cool enemies, and overall well done(even though they seem a bit buggy at times, with flying patterns simulating going down a drain). However, considering that dragons are supposed to be the ultimate badasses of the monster world, I find them far too EASY. Snow bears pummel me casually while joyfully galloping past me. Dragons can roast me for indefinite times, and even with default 100 HP, it just makes me a tad bit toasty.
Otherwise, I have to say I'm loving it! Looking forward to finishing with my mage though..pure mage is just not as fun in this one as the previous games. I find restoration and destruction advance far too slowly compared to conjuration and illusion. I find myself resurrecting dead enemies just to use my weakest destruction spells on the zombies as a sort of training method, just to help keep up my destruction skill, yet still it is only around 50 at level 30~.
Melee on the other hand is very interesting by the looks of it! I still miss the variety of weaponry from Morrowind, but the ability to dual wield, the control of shielding, etc..its just very well done in my opinion! Marksmanship is a bit overpowered, but I guess in reality an arrow to the head would hurt alot as well
I have not really experimented too much with a thief-like character, but I understand with daggers you are able to get some hardcore critical damage..looking forward to trying it out with an all out Khajiit assassin
I've also felt the frustration of the amount of quests, as Aelia mentioned..seems everyone needs something done! But I like the fact that even quests that seem trivial may turn out to be quite interesting, and vaster than one would guess initially!