Uhh...It's an action RPG. It's not rocket science!
The Dung heap games barely had any redeeming features if you ask me - they're essentially interactive screensavers, but thankfully are fun for a playthrough in multiplayer. The first DS has also been used to make updated versions of two Ultima games. Lazarus (U5) and the U6 Project. I haven't tried them out yet, but must do at some point - as it's a worthy cause.
The main reason I'm mildly curious about trying the third game, is that Obsidian developed it with Square Enix and thus did the writing for it. (Think Kotor 2, Mask of the Betrayer, NWN 2, Storm of Zehir, Alpha Protocol, New Vegas.)
I also read an interview with George Ziets at Gamebanshee which made the story arcs and fair treatment of canon seem interesting.
Anyway, hope you figure it all out and get your money's worth LadyZeeke!
Cheers