I agree with most, if not all, of these.
I think the dice rolls were kept in to make it fun, because admittedly this doesn't have the same feel as previous titles and as you may have noticed in other threads, the links to Dungeons and Dragons are a little tenuous. It doesn't bother me, but I could definitely do without it. I think it is sort of like how the original titles used an isometric perspective in order to make it feel like you were guiding minis on a table top game. Its less subtle, but its still a way of adding the comfort of familiarity for those who are more table top gamers than computer gamers -although in 2020 I imagine the number of them is quite few.
You are absolutely spot on about how as conversation knowledge/responses have been implemented and ultimately restricted, the dice checks in conversation only detract from the experience and contribute nothing of value. Its like they felt they had to respect the mechanic at the expense of player satisfaction. A few of us have been pushing for alternate interpretations and compromise, such as waiving dice rolls when the player has proficiency and retaining them only when they are unskilled, but there is no way of knowing what the studio has heard or is considering.
Still, welcome to the board, fierce entry
