That’s not really what I’m saying, though. Bethesda’s signature is always that their faction quests are deeper and cooler than their main quests. You’re allowed not to like that, but it’s definitely how Bethesda works.
The main line of fallout or skyrim or oblivion may get sidetracked, but its still a huge goal thats genuinely fun and satisfying to complete.
I agree, as I felt Starfield was satisfying to complete. It’s just not the point. They call them Sandbox RPGs for a reason. For Skyrim, I would take the Companions, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Winterhold, etc over the main plot every day. For Fallout 4, it was different because the main plot turns into “pick a faction to wipe out the Institute (unless you pick the Institute)”. Yeah, NV is similar with that. It got a lot of flak for that, but I thought it worked. Fallout 3, though… “I wanna make clean water”. It’s fun, but not why F3 is a masterpiece.