That "boring protagonist" was you, whoever you decided to be. Everything was centered around letting you have the choice of deciding who you were and every part of both games, by and large, were part of describing who you actually were.
But due to technical limitations you were only "what you wanted to be" in very very very restricted capacities. This can be done way better as of now. The tag system alone is bringing something to the table that just was not available back then. Combine it with the influence that skills and class features (+Class Tags) have and it feels much more like "what you want to be".
I guess the point here is: let the companions be just that and make the PC even more and more reactive. Because now at least we have the chance to really play that out much more.
Well, the old games didn't tell you much who you were, but you knew. You knew if you were the kind of practical type that would have Jan drink a few potions and then sell a few suits of full plate, then pickpocket those suits of full plate, then sell another couple of suits of full plate that you had recently, ahem, acquired. Or maybe you were too lawful and wouldn't even cheat a shady merchant that traded in stolen goods like that. You would know if you got the youths into trouble with swords and alcohol.
Things like class tags in the dialogue can used to put a bit more emphasis on precisely who and what you are, but I feel that all the skill check rolling BS is actually detracting a fair bit. Suppose you have shitty rolls, does that mean you ought to never learn anything about your companions? That they never open up? That doesn't feel right. Suppose you have rubbish skills for the check but extreme luck with the rolls (or you savescum), what does that mean, then?
