system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Skyrim] Why should I support the Stormcloak rebellion or the Imperial Legion?

I'll have you know I'm a nord myself but the Stormcloaks have caused a ruckus with their rebellion but the Imperial legion is causing a lot of damage too. I'm at a stand still and not sure who to join.
gpt
That is a very good question.

**Stormcloaks**

**Pros**:

* Restore worship of Talos - *might* be necessary to save the world. Talos is a Tower, and it's *possible* that not worshipping him might make him stop being a Tower. This is a Very Bad Thing, because not many Towers are left, and if they fall, the Dominion wins. The Dominion wants to end the kalpic cycle (reality) so they can ascend back to their original Nirvana-like state. 

* Free Skyrim from the Empire. The Empire, despite having been a great unifying force and in some respects a Nordic legacy, has grown stagnant and corrupt: this is evident from, for instance, the Imperial Captain who tried to murder the Dragonborn at Helgen without due process to make her life easier.

* Return of Nordic customs. It's a common misconception that Tamriel is pre-industrial; it's post-apocalyptic. A return of older customs could in fact help the province.

* *Technically*, Ulfric is the rightful High King, having killed Torygg in a duel. This is a very old law not often respected; it's up to you whether or not you support it.

* Skyrim would be very, very difficult for the Dominion to take. It's inhospitable, capable of feeding itself, and potentially filled with a united populace who hate everything the Dominion stands for. It potentially has the Last Dragonborn on its side, who is a massive spanner in the works potentially capable of helping to win a Second Great War, and certainly capable of defending Skyrim. 

**Cons**:

* Ulfric seems very power-hungry. Torygg was in fact willing to consider his view; if not for Ulfric's desire for power, he might have rejected the Dominion himself, which would have prevented the Civil War and great loss of life.

* Ulfric is not the most honourable of leaders. He knew full well that duelling was an ancient and outmoded custom, and that Torygg was young and inexperienced. Ulfric was a Tongue (albeit not a very powerful one); not only did he stray from the Way of the Voice, he also abused Kyne's gift to murder a helpless "opponent".

* The Stormcloak leadership is widely racist. Dark Elves and Argonians are heavily oppressed in Windhelm to an extreme and unnecessary degree. This is in stark contrast to better governments of Skyrim, such as that behind the donation of Solstheim to Morrowind after Red Year. As a Nordic citizen, you may not particularly like Mer, but many of the Stormcloaks are simply driven by irrational hatred of them.

* The Stormcloaks represent a sort of cultural decay, despite what they say about tradition. Their hatred of non-humans and to a lesser extent non-Nords dishonours the legacy of Skyrim. Their thinly-veiled suspicion of magic is both a disgrace to older Nordic attitudes to the "Clever Craft", practitioners of which include Shalidor and Ysgramor, and potentially dangerous to quality of life for citizens.

**Imperials**

**Pros**:

* The Empire is the only significant threat to the Dominion. Short of the Dragonborn intervening and sicking the Dov on them (which is unlikely for metaphysical reasons; Heroes tend to leave after their Events), an Empire with not only Hammerfell but also Skyrim seceded would be all but helpless against them. Unity is stronger than division.

* Very sympathetic to Stormcloak views. The Empire don't like the ban on Talos any more than the Stormcloaks; the White-Gold Concordat was simply necessary to buy time to recover from the Great War. In fact, they turned a blind eye to it before Ulfric went around shouting about it.

* More cosmopolitan and accepting than the Stormcloaks.

* Much less magnephobic and anti-intellectual, which could be a good thing for progress.

**Cons**:

* Evidence of corruption, including widespread use of torture and poor leadership.

* *Extremely* influenced by the Thalmor; with the dissolution of the Blades and the formation of the Penitus Oculatus, the Empire is riddled with Thalmor agents.

* Excessively willing to bow to enemy demands, such as the events of 30th Frostfall.

* Would be forced to maintain the ban on Talos worship, which could contribute to Towerfall (see above).