True, but there is not an afterlife of punishment in Asatru. Hel is the place where "those who died by old age or sickness" go and it's a place of silence for the dead to rest, pretty similar to the greek otherworld in a way. But again, all these myths are just sympols. For example, take Valhalla. The hall of the valiant dead.
The hall's walls are known to be made of spears, the roof of shields etc. while a goat in the rooftop produces mead non-stop for the warriors to drink. Obviously, that sounds ridiculous. But taking a look at the ancients' traditions, we see that the dead warriors were buried with their weapons; hence their otherworld is made of these weapons. Also, it is commonly believed in pretty much all religions that once you die, you will learn all the truth about religion and the universe, you will have unimaginable knowledge to the common alive man. The mead-producing goat is a sympol for that knowledge. The mead in many parts of the myths is a sympol for knowledge (the mead of wisdom found by Odin under the World Tree for example). So, according to the myths, the dead will gain huge amounts of wisdom and "no matter how much they drink, there will always be more to be drunk".
But really, the ancients did not believe in an otherworld where the dead stayed. They believed in reincarnation. They used to name their youngest children after other dead members of the family, so that the spirits of those dead ancestors could be housed within them. This tradition has survived till now too, as in most nations of the western world (and of the eastern if I am not mistaken), the young children are named after their grandfathers/grandmothers.
I am talking about the original faith that was created on the roots of animism back to the Stone Age and before. As years passed and human societies grew, man naturally became greedy. So, in the late pre-christian age most of the religions in the world were all about "the Gods want this and you must do it or you will be punished" to control the masses, much like christianity. So, yes, Epicurus was right even in his age. Because in his age people had already taken to see their "gods" as physical deities and not as they were originally. And seriously, Epicurus lived on ATHENS. While Athens was the home to almost all known hellenic philosophers, she literally was also the capital of greed and corruption. She still hasn't changed much. I live in the damn country. I know.
All this talk about Hircine and Sheogorath, and noone even mentions the religious revolution going on over in Nova Orsinium.
The worship of Malacath is built on fraudulent lies! He is not Trinimac, nor is Trinimac Malacath. Trinimac is the true patron of the Orsimer, God of War and the glory it brings. Hail Trinimac, and down with the imposter Prince of Curses!
The Elder Scrolls Universe is rich with deities that are worshipped. Many of them are considered evil because of what mortals view as 'evil' but they are immortal beings who don't have a moral code. The deities of the Elder Scrolls Universe are very well created by Bethesda. I must thank the Bethesda Studios for the creation of all Elder Scrolls Lore.
For the pantheon that I choose to worship is mixed and matched between both the Aedra and the Daedra.
Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. He is the reason that the Dragonborn have existed through the eras and without the Dragonborn's, Tamriel would've succumbed to chaos eras ago.
Mara, the Mother of Love. She is the reason that love exists across Tamriel and without Mara there would be no use in living in a realm of monsters and evil. Love is the light that we see everyday, love is what binds us all.
Namira, Queen of Decay. Even though in Skyrim her quest makes you eat a freshly slain corpse and as her champion you are able to eat people but in truth, her quest was kind of awesome and if I have to eat people to learn that awesome speech ability that Eola uses they I'd glandly eat people. Power is all we crave.
Molag Bal, Prince of Vampires. Mister Bal created vampires. Everyone loves Serana and well I'd reckon that the Mace of Molag Bal was a very useful weapon. Now imagine being a vampire more powerful that Harkon himself and wielding a Daedric Artefact that can improve your odds in combat. Is it worth serving a cruel master. I say yes. And Molag Bal wasn't a cruel demon in Skyrim. Just a menacing god.
Sheogorath, Prince of Madness. Everyone loves Sheogorath especially in the Shivering Isles Expansion. He is one of the greatest deities that have ever lived and the coolest. I'd travel to the Shivering Isles without a second thought. It was just the coolest. And who wouldn't want to serve a mad-god with Golden Saints and Dark Seducers. I do of course.
Azura, Queen of Dusk and Dawn. Now Azura is one of the chief deities to the Dunmer and because my Skyrim character is currently a powerful Dunmer vampire then Azura was eventually going to turn up in the pantheon. She is the reason that my character is a Dunmer. So she has a seat in my pantheon.
Last but not Least, Dibella, Queen of Sexual Desire. Now who wouldn't want to worship a Goddess that can teach you everything about the sexual experience. I sure want to worship this woman. Now the Dibella Temple would become a pleasure to work in. *wink*
That is the Pantheon that I would worship. May Akatosh guide you.
Malacath, Molag Bal, Namira.
Malacath: Malacath respects strength, Volendrung is the perfect resemblance of that. You will have to swing with a large amount of strength, and if you succeed in a hit, some of that strength will return to you (Absorb Stamina)
Molag Bal: The Lord of Domination. He loves to dominate the world by any means and his mace personifies this in EVERY way. Draining Stamina, Magicka, Inflicting Pain and stealing Souls. Also he created the all too powerful Vampire Lords.
Namira: Namira, the lady of Decay. Feasting on corpses after drinking them dry, bash their skulls in and then feast on their corpses. Perfect combination
If we are talking about a pantheon that doesn't exist in lore and is totally of my devising then I've always enjoyed creation symbolised by Meridia, Azura and Nocturnal.
Lady Light is the Warrior Queen and protector of the life spark that is within all mortals. She is the patron of the Sun and represents the blinding light of Aetherius and she vanquishes the foes who would corrupt that. She would be prayed to every day at Noon when the sun is at it's highest.
Mother Dark is the Night Thief who teaches us that not all things are given freely and one must take what they need to survive in this cold dark world. She represents the Void from which birthed everything but could never be filled. She would be prayed to every night at Midnight when the sky is at it's darkest.
Sister Shadow is the Twilight Sorceress who presides over the magic of Change and the interaction between light and dark. She is as caring as Lady Light but also as calculating as Mother Dark and teaches us the importance of balance in the act of creation. She would be prayed to every dusk and dawn when night becomes day and day becomes night and the Sun, Moon and Stars are all in balance.
For me I like The void, Sithis, the planes of Oblivion, exactly this: "This leads some to refer to Padomay as "The True God"; the one who existed before everything else and whose chaotic nature caused the reaction that gave life to the current gods." The void , Sithis
Not because is something "bad" because I cant trust in the ways of being of things in life in Elder Scrolls Universe and in real life I think the same way, its a reflection what I think
Talos was already worshiped by the Ancient Nords as Ysmir before Tiber Septim became the ninth divine, so it's not like Talos only existed after Tiber Septim achieved CHIM.
He's certainly not a "false" God, because he most definitely achieved CHIM which effectively makes mortals into Gods. It's like saying Vivec isn't a God or Xarxes isn't a God simply because they were mortal beforehand.