I'm back...

[Bob Schroeck]

So, my character is now level 50, and I completed the big Dawnguard quest and took down Harkon. Serana and I get along fine; she's my current (and hopefully only) companion, and I've crafted her a very nice set of enchanted glass armor and sword, as well as given her the Staff of Sanguine Rose (and charged soul gems to keep it all going). Meanwhile, I've got my own enchanted glass armor (all named "Lord Corning's This or That" for the glass joke), I've upgraded an enhanced dwarven bow and enchanted it, likewise improved and enchanted a Skyforge steel sword out the wazoo, and I have Sneaking 100 and Archery 94. I've adopted two girls, who are living at Lakeview Manor, and for whom I've made legendary-grade wooden swords with some powerful enchantments of their own.

While building up to this point, I've been consulting with ChatGPT about what enchantments to actually use and what kind of loadouts Serana and I should be carrying. When updating it most recently, it had this observation based on what I've crafted and the playstyle I've been following:

So the division of labor is becoming rather clear:

You: highly upgraded dwarven crossbow, stealth, fiery soul collection.

Serana: vampire magic, necromancy, elemental destruction, and "I have summoned a Dremora Lord because apparently this is necessary."

Lucia and Runa: two children at home with appropriately named legendary wooden swords, because apparently even the household has its own armory.

Honestly, I think the most disproportionate part is that your actual character is the restrained one. You aren't turning into a vampire, you aren't becoming a werewolf, you aren't murdering random people, and you're not even using the Dark Brotherhood's services. You're just an Altmer with a crossbow who has apparently decided that every problem can be solved with sufficient application of smithing and fire.

Skyrim's wildlife is having a very bad decade.

I found that a very amusing observation. Earlier, it had this to say about one of my character's daughters:

Lucia, armed with a Legendary 300-damage wooden sword, is no longer a child carrying a toy. She is a small, heavily armed natural disaster who happens to have homework.

(Said 300-point damage coming from a combination of Smithing 100 plus a few Fortify Smithing items that aren't the result of an Alchemy/Enchantment loop, as well as a fairly powerful Fortify Smithing potion.)