I'd ask not to argue in terms of how others should play the game.
The whole concept of "playing a game as someone else wants you to", even if it's the developer saying it, is just absurd. That includes cheating, that includes save/reload and whatnot (that is legal). Applying only for single player, of course.
Just as people are allowed to do anything that is within legal limits in the privacy of their own home, no matter how socially frowned upon it may be, so should people be allowed to enjoy their own private single player experience the way they choose.
Sorry if it seems too preachy... I've been in this kind of argument before and I have a bit of an issue with the notion of telling anyone what to do on their own, when not affecting anyone else.
But to be back on topic for a change:
I've made most of the same observations as Stabbey and I do specifically remember at least a few of the game-play issues mentioned dating back to the beta period, most of which I had written about in the beta reports.
As for pretty much all of the observations on the simplicity of decisions made as the emperor: I pretty much agree, but I never really expected that much from a studio the size of Larian's. They just don't have that many resources to make all the sides of the game work that well. Maybe later, when they're a multi-gazibillion dollar game-making corporation rivaling Microsoft as a whole :p
Also, Swen promised us AI Dragons while live on TwitchTV, pre-launch. We're still waiting
