Cicero is my favorite NPC in the entire game because he's funny and cool and very powerful. He has the 3rd best armor in the game and he's the 2nd strongest follower in the game, both of these were judged by youtuber Smike. Plus Cicero's funny dialogue because he says the weirdest things like "must oil mother soon, get all the hard to reach places." which was funny when I first heard it, but now hearing him threaten to kill me it's kind of scary. For example, I once heard him say he was going to kill me in my sleep!
He is definitely one of my favorites other than the fact that he is in my favorite faction dbh his dialogue though is surprisingly entertaining. My favorite is paarthunax because he is dragon and he is voiced by Mario's voice actor and he teaches the dragon born. (I never kill him when the blades want me to)
Shahvee - All my male Dragonborns marry her because I was so touched by her view of life and being happy. And as my wife, I like to think I saved her from a miserable life in a city where non-Nords have no voice in their future.
Jarl Balgruuf - In my opinion he deserves to be High King because he always thinks about his people first. And unlike Elisif, he doesn't let his subordinates contradict him in front of everyone.
Tolfdir - I couldn't ask for a better Master Wizard
Brunwulf Free-Winter - Unlike the narrow-minded bigots Nords who live in Windhelm, Brunwulf is not the "Skyrim for the Nords" type.
Paarthurnax - It's impossible not to admire the wisdom of big Paarthy!! Zin krif horvut se suleyk (honor is fighting the lure of power).
Brynjolf, definitely. That's mainly due to the impression he left on me the first time we met, when I was an Elder Scrolls newbie; up until then, all I wanted to do was be the hero. I wasn't even aware that you could be a career criminal until Brynjolf approached me in Riften, and tried to get me in on a job. Right away I was wary of him, but also fascinated; his voice was unique, and there was something very sly about his demeanor. Of course I didn't want to help him frame an innocent man, but at the time I wasn't aware that Brynjolf could be skipped over in the main quest, which I was intent on completing. I felt like I was under a great deal of pressure, and couldn't continue.
Cut to years later, when I'd fallen in love with the Thief trilogy and learned that its primary voice actor, Stephen Russell, played as Cynric Endell in Skyrim. Now I absolutely HAD to meet Cynric in-person, so I booted up Skyrim again and developed my very first thief: Markus Blackwell, who now represents me here on the Blog. Again I met Brynjolf, and this time I went along with his market scheme and wound up joining the Guild. From there, Bryn grew on me; he seemed almost like a mentor or big brother to me, always encouraging me to better myself as a thief and to make the Guild proud. To this day I feel a stronger connection with him than I have with pretty much every other NPC in the game, just because of how influential that sneaky con artist was to my enjoyment of the game (with an honorable mention going to Cynric, of course).
Goodness, that was long.
I kind of 'overlook' the possibility of talking to Faendal first and making him the 'badguy' in that love triangle. I always instigate w Sven and tell Camilla that the Nord is being a jerk.Then, Faendal teaches me some archery and we travel together until it gets too dangerous. Then i leeave him to have a happy life with Camilla, but visit often!
He's such a nice guy!!
Yeah! What I meant to imply in the comment was that, at the time, I didn't know that Stephen contributed so much to the game. I thought he only did the voice of Cynric as a little cameo appearance -- until I realized that Belethor and Lucan Valerius sounded very similar to the guards from Thief, who were also voiced by Stephen Russell.
Some npcs really have a place in my heart for their uniqueness.
1.M'aiq the Liar - always have something interesting to say when I'm on the road. "M'aiq wishes you well".
2.Madesi - he's so polite and always treat you respectfully. "Greetings, honorable friend".
3.Revyn Sadri - I don't know why I like him, maybe because of his honesty about Viola's ring (or the speech training). "Do come again!"
4.Paarthurnax - well, I think it's self explaining. "Drem Yol Lok. Greetings."
5.Legate Rikke - the most reasonable soldier in the whole civil war. She knows who's the real enemy. But don't ask her. "I consider this conversation over."
Honorable mentions: Faendal (a bit stalker, though), Brynjolf (like an old brother), Aela (hot for her), Mirabelle (that voice), Kodlak (true honorable man), Tolfdir (knows nothing) and J'Zargo (a mage Khajiit says enough).
Im surprised to see that basically no one has chosen General Tullius! The man is a genius, I love his sarcastic hard-to-understannd humour, and his gentlemanly way of judging situations. Safe to say he is one of my favourites...
"I'm originally from Cyrodiil, sent here at the request of the Emperor himself. I'm often ordered to places with problems that need fixing. Now, while I'm certain this is all terribly interesting to you, I have important matters to attend." - his sarcastic humour which I find funny xD
I always kind of hated Lydia, due to pre-expansion dialogue.
Me: Here, Lydia. I have this awesome armor that is going to protect you, and has magic protection as well. I crafted it myself, just for you.
Lydia: (sigh) I am sworn to carry your burdens.
Me: Fine. Screw you Lydia. Don't take the armor, then. I hope the falmer eat your face.
I really enjoyed Erik The Slayer. You had to help him get started, but once you do he is in my opinion the best pure-warrior Nord follower. As an added bonus, he has very unique dialogue. Once, we were clearing a fort of bandits and he commented "Great place to build a fort, high up and you can see in every direction". He is awesome.
This may not be what was meant by this topic, but here goes.
On my second attempt at a character in Skyrim, none of which I have finished the game with as of now mind you, I was playing an archer using the Bound Bow. I was still very new to the game and clad in light armor and out in the open, knee deep in snow, and yes paranoid of bears and sabercats. I topped this hill, not even sure where I was actually, and saw a wolf! Summoning the bow I aimed as the crazed beast charged me and with a silent prayer I let the ghostly arrow fly.
Killed a stray dog.
Not a wolf, but a random stray dog. Felt horrible about it. Then when I got closer to look at it I noticed three wolves just behind it in the snow. So what seems happened was I had just come upon a stray dog that had barely survived a fight for its life with three wolves. Thing most likely saw me and was limping over hoping for a pet on the head and some first aid. That has stuck with me all this time. So for me, my favorite NPC will always be that stray dog with no name that I laid to rest on a rock over looking some snowy valley somewhere in Skyrim.