I actually prefer Altair to Ezio. Ezio has a better personality and is more enjoyable in that regard. Plus, Ezio interacts with people that are not part of the order a lot of the time and he didn't find out he was an assassin until he was 17. Altair was brought up in the Assassin's Order, so he has little to no personality. That is why Altair is the better killer. Even though the combat was smoother and more refined in AC2, Altair was more precise and he had more brutal methods of dispatching people. Granted, I like 47 from the Hitman games, although, I hate Absolution.
I come from the old Hitman games where you didn't have the mind set of, "If I get caught, I'll just shoot my way out." The old Hitman games were slow-paced. I can't tell you how long I used to play St. Petersburg Stakeout. It probably took me an hour to do it right without being seen by anyone on Professional.
There are multiple games I would consider superior:
1) Dragon Age: Origins: While it may not possess as much freedom as Skyrim, it is certainly much stronger in terms of dialogue, character depth, and the quality of the quests. Don't kill me, but I also think the Lore of Dragon Age is more interesting as well. The combat... It's so different. I won't say it's superior, but I personally enjoy the tactical layout. It can be a very challenging game on higher difficulties.
2) Halo 3: I'm going to go on the record and say that Halo 3 is the greatest FPS of all time. I have never, in my decades of video gaming experience, have had as much fun playing a video game than I have playing Halo 3 on Co-Op Campaign. I loved every second of my time saving the Human race from annihilation, and it was a fitting end to a trilogy that I continue to play to this day.
3) Mass Effect 2: Another Bioware game? Yes. I have always been a huge Bioware fan, although recently they have been disappointing me (Dragon Age 2's mediocrity, Mass Effect 3's ending(s), the lack of a true KOTOR 3...). Mass Effect 2 was a sequel that blew my mind. It shattered all my expectations, proving to be vastly superior to the original in almost every regard. Its graphics, gameplay and compelling story arcs had me hooked for months.
Oh my god, I'd forgotten about SWB2!
I played hours of that game, it was absolutely brilliant!
However If I was going to pick a game that I felt was better/had more fun with than skyrim I would definitely choose Jak 3. The great storyline, fun combat and Dark/light system made Jak 3 one of the greatest games I've ever played!
Only having a PC I am not in the running for the Halo series, but I agree with what you say about DAO . The PC had much stronger interaction with NPC's and the role play, quests and storylines still are far more immersive. Sad really but for Skyrim's rigidity in that area, and also the lack of "I don't wanna be a stupid mage/assasin/blade puppet etc" options in the dialogue, it would have been there with the VERY best
Like to expand on your ME comments from my personal experience of the games . I think ME 1 had a lot of stuff that the wrinkles needed to be ironed out of not the least of which was the combat which sucked and you spending forever farting around in that little tank in unfriendly landscapes. ME 2 went a long way towards solving that and just when I thought ME3 had it perfected they flunked the course in the last 20 minutes or so of gameplay.
Like you I have been a Bioware fan for ages in fact since Baldur's gate in 1998. I contributed regularly to the Bioware forums particularly on role playing topics and romances. Talking of which Bioware chickened out of doing "nude" cutscenes as in ME1 following exposure on national tv. Consequently they completely screwed all subsequent romantic "conjunctions" in 2 and 3
I only played it the once. Since then I've taken the DLC (the thief) but not got around to playing it again. I'm not going to say that it was a complete washout because the RPG and immersive thing was still good but the action was by comparison with DAO confined to a small area and overall I thought the game lacked focus. The Awakening expansion for DAO was also disappointing as well when compared with the TOB expansion for BG2
I think I mentioned that I found generally that the game lacked focus and having all your adventure confined to one place (two counting the occasional trip to the beach) was a little restrictive I thought compared with the scope and variety of adventures available in DAO
The good stuff?
I liked the skill trees and the choices available to develop your characters personal combat style
Combat though less tactical was more fulfilling on a personal level except with that Qunari if you were not a mage
Player choice and consequences manifested themselves in different ways and I thought the writing absolutely brilliant. Much of it is great and highly political. While the quests are good they don't seem to come together in the way that DAO did with the focus on the Arch Demon. I guess that the problem is that DAO was a hard act to follow. Of course you were limited in your choice of character and race, but I'm not sure that was too much of a problem given the excellence of the general plotline. DA2 keft me with a feeling that the DA society was in meltdown. I think Bioware have tried to develop DA along the original Greenwood ideas for his Forgotten Realms stories. Greenwood was a part time library assistant who thought he could write. He couldn't but it didn't stop Bioware turning his sucky book(s) into a great rpg. Greenwood did write a number of stories based on a city state theme (a bit like a combo of ancient and mythological Greece
DA3 looks as though it may pick up the story of Liliana's (from DAO) role in Chantry politics and the developing war between them, the Templars and the mages. I shall definitely play it, and hopefully the DA trilogy will end on a high note assuming it will end after 3 comes out whenever that may be
Recent games?, Well, do you want immersion, serious role play, individualism, and general all round "Get you really into the atmosphere of the medieval political scene" with mostly nasty European mythological creatures for added "Ooh Aah!" then look no further than Witcher 2!
No good or evil here, (subjective) just consequences of decisions and choices that you make as a character. The plot develops in accordance with your personal selections during exchanges with NPCs you meet and interact with. In terms of lore it's about (in European terms) 400 years after Skyrim with what appears to be 13th century armour and clothing. Monsters a plenty for your central character to dispose of (it's his job as a monster slayer who takes drugs and potions to enhance his performance). Needed by everyone but despised as a freak due to the de humanisaion process he goes through to become a Witcher, Geralt gets embroiled in local and international politics. Combat is challenging (toned down a bit in later updates) but stillfulfilling and much more than than a simple cast spell/shoot/smash with heavy weapon or sneak and backstab. The game and it's towns cities etc come with warts and all and you get to interact with pretty much everyone. Bareknuckle fights, gambling, prostitution - its all there if you want it in towns and cities together with racial hatred and sleazeball characters a plenty. Very realistic and fulfilling for those really into role play as an art form. The Polish CD Project team are currently working on the last in the trilogy - I've already put by the cash to get into this game as based on the track record of the previous 2 this one will also be in my opinion, unmissable.