Skyrim is famous for a lot of things, not least of which is the innovative gameplay that helped to streamline the RPG genre. After all, this was the game that allowed players to become the Dragonborn and go on a legendary adventure across the province of Skyrim to save the world. They'll meet several intriguing personalities over the course of that journey. However, some of the citizens of Skyrim don't seem to appreciate the Dragonborn's accomplishments.
In fact, wandering around in-game will usually get the Dragonborn insulted, slighted, and sometimes, just flatly annoyed by many of the NPCs encountered. However, there are a few particular characters who are more annoying than the others, and they're effectively infamous among long term players for repeatedly spouting the same well-worn (and occasionally abrasive) lines every time they're encountered.
10 Imperial Captain - "Forget the list. She goes to the block."
Everyone's familiar with the opening stakes — the Dragonborn was caught by the Imperials and accused of aligning with the Stormcloaks. Upon arrival at the site of their surprise execution, the Imperial Captain doesn't even bother to look for the player's charge.
Instead, they literally send players straight to the chopping block, where they would have been killed if not for a dragon breaking up the party. This line may only get used once per playthrough, but given that it heralds yet another trip to the chopping block, it's bound to wear on you sooner or later.
9 Kayd - "I thought adventurers were supposed to look tough."
There is something off about the children in Skyrim — they're always either antagonistic or annoying, and Kayd is no different. The curious child talks with the Dragonborn only to let out an insult moments later. This dialogue never changes no matter what set of armor players are wearing or how much they have leveled up.
The only natural conclusion fans can come to about Kayd is that he is just trying to be disrespectful to garner a reaction out of people.
8 Random Guard - "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll?"
The guards in Skyrim aren't best described as heroic, even seeming to be a little annoyed themselves with the people they are sworn to protect. Players attempting to have a friendly chat with their local guards will likely be subjected to this patronizing quip about sweetrolls — again, and again.
It's a good thing the guards make their sarcasm abundantly clear — the last thing the Thieves' Guild needs is to be blamed for a rash of fictitious sweetroll robberies.
7 Villager - "By the gods, it's true, isn't it? A dragon has attacked Whiterun."
News in Skyrim doesn't seem like it is able to travel incredibly fast, but it seems like the moment a dragon attacks Whiterun, everyone and their brother knows. What makes this phrase particularly strange is that, even after several in-game years, the villagers still seem to think this is noteworthy news.
Once the first dragon appears, players will be forced to hear about it over and over again until they finally stop playing the game altogether.
6 Bandit - "You picked a bad time to get lost, friend."
Bandits in Skyrim are only really a nuisance in the early hours of the game. Even then, bandits are usually pretty easy to kill, making them less threatening than almost every other enemy in the game.
What's hilarious is that these threats will even continue after a player has beaten the main plot of the game and become well renowned as a hero who took on a mythical dragon and prevented the apocalypse. Yet still, the Dragonborn "picked a bad time to get lost." More like the bandits picked a bad time to get found.
5 Nazeem - "Do you get to the Cloud District very often?"
Nazeem is practically an icon among his NPC peers, and for all the wrong reasons. Nazeem loves to wander around Whiterun, seemingly just to insult anyone who dares walk past him. He is one of the most unpleasant townspeople in the game, and his only pleasure in life would seem to be setting a world record for how high any singular person has managed to stick their nose into the air. What's funny is that, for all of his obsession with it, Nazeem really doesn't seem to get to the Cloud District very often.
4 Random Guard - "I got to thinking, maybe I'm the Dragonborn, and I just don't know it yet."
As fans can tell from the title, some guards are really hopeful about their job. So hopeful, in fact, that some guards think that they may even be the legendary Dragonborn hero themselves.
This phrase is, admittedly, worth a chuckle or two in passing. But after the hundredth time, it starts to wear more than a little thin.
3 Dagny - "One of the new servants? Remember that I like my meat rare."
As mentioned earlier in this article, children in Skyrim seem like they're practically made to be annoying. Dagny is the daughter of Whiterun's very own Jarl Balgruuf, and she seems a little too aware of her lineage.
Dagny will constantly bark commands at those around her — even to the Dragonborn, who she mistakes as one of her cooks.
2 Nelkir - "Another wanderer, here to lick my father's boots. Good job."
Rudeness must run in the family, as Dagny has a brother named Nelkir who is every bit as rude as she is. Unlike Dagny, Nelkir seems to be a bit resentful of his father, as he pointedly looks down on adventurers who are just visiting to cozy up to him. Regardless, it's safe to say that the brother-sister pair of Dragonsreach are two of the rudest kids in the game.
1 Every Guard in Skyrim - "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow to the knee."
Finally, we arrive at one of the most heavily memed phrases in all of gaming. Even gamers that have never played an hour's worth of Skyrim likely know it by heart. Every time the joke seems to have gone away for good, another meme rears its ugly head to remind players that the guards in Skyrim all seem to have severe knee injuries. Even after all these years, archers haven't improved their aim and guards haven't invested in proper knee pads. The nightmare continues.