December 15, 2013 6:28 PM EST
The Khajiit would easily betray the Thalmor if they saw something worthwhile in it, or if they realized they had been completely duped. The Khajiit have historically been opportunists and aren't very loyal to anyone for very long. I mean they don't get their bad reputation simply because they're misunderstood. Many Khajiit are in fact pretty shifty to say the least.
It's been shown out of game that there are in fact many Altmer that don't like the Dominion at all and are very vocal about it. People also severely overestimate the racism in Tamriel. Even in the Stormcloak capital of Windhelm there are two Altmer, both of which don't seem to give a rats ass about the Dominion or its racist ways. In fact almost none of the non-Thalmor Altmer in Skyrim show any sort of real racism at all. They act snooty, but they don't seem to really harbor any ill will toward man at all. I doubt even half the population of the Dominion really support it fully. If the Dominion was on its last leg so to speak I think they'd gladly switch sides.
Hammerfell didn't just want the Thalmor gone, they want them dead. Redguards have never been complacent and to think that just running someone off would be the end of it for them is foolish. They'll likely attempt an attack on the Thamor by themselves even if the Empire doesn't. It's also worth noting that the Thamor aren't gone from Hamerfell at all. Half the province is still under their rule and "The fight against the Dominion is still strong in Hammerfell" (Quote by Kematu, leader of the Alik'r during the quest "In my time of need").
As for the High King argument well, that all depends on which side you chose during the civil war, or if Bethesda decides that neither choice mattered in canon which is likely going to be the case then it'll probably be someone unexpected. Any of the ways you put it though they all would be willing to fight the Dominion. Spoilers Ahead: If you side with the Stormcloaks Ulfric and his boys are flat out ready to take the fight to the Dominion after they recuperate from the civil war. If you side with the Empire General Tullius tells you that he's going to start planning to fight the Thamor after the rebuilding process is done, and that he doesn't agree with the politicians. And if neither side matters because something happens between now and the new game (likely scenario) then we'll probably get a High King that won't like the Dominion at all anyway seeing as no Nord in their right mind would.
As for the assassination well, I doubt that it would have much effect honestly. Spoilers Again: I mean the Emperor is killed during the events of Skyrim (whether by you as the player during the DB questline or an unknown assassin) and absolutely no one really gives a crap. That is literally how meaningful the lives of these complacent politicians are. The real battles and decisions will be made by the generals like Tullius. And if Tullius or any other general were killed it'd probably just work to incite even more rage in the Empire's soldiers. You also forget that the Empire isn't above using assassins either. The Dominion could easily lose a leader to an assassin who's purse was lined with Imperial gold.
I'd also like to point out that while the Dominion's Navy is damn amazing, the Nords and Redguard both have decent Navies themselves. Hell even the Imperials can hold their own in Naval combat if need be. I'd say that 3 or even just 2 good Navies are equal to 1 outnumbered "great" Navy.
The attack wouldn't come right this minute anyway. The Empire would have to first have meetings with the leaders of other nations like the Redguard and Nords, plus they'd need to start recruiting and training an army. At the quickest I'd think this war would be a couple years down the line which is more than enough time for the Nords to rebuild and the Empire to send out tendrils to find allies willing to fight. Also while for humans 2, 3, or even 4 years seems like quite a while to wait it wouldn't even be the blink of an eye to the Thalmor. In the time it'd take the Empire to form an army and get allies the Thalmor, because of their long lifespans and extremely low birthrates, would have almost nothing done. A long life gives you the time to gain TONS of knowledge and power, but it also makes you take things at a MUCH slower pace because you don't really feel the need or urgency that someone who's only got 100 years tops to live would.
You're right about failing to adapt being the Altmer's greatest weakness. If the war takes too long, Altmer will always fail against Humans.
