The world of Skyrim is extremely immersive. As players navigate the streets of its towns, the winding paths of its mountains, and the claustrophobic tunnels of its dungeons, it begins to feel like a fully realized world. This has helped Skyrim maintain its popularity 10 years after its initial release, and has made it an iconic RPG setting across the medium.
The game's world is also brought to life by its variety of NPCs, and the stories that they involve the player with throughout their playthrough. From Jarl Balgruuf to Mercer Frey there are plenty of characters remembered by players after the credits are finished. While there are plenty of characters to love in Skyrim, however, there are also plenty that players tend to hate, with some of them rising above the rest in terms of just how intolerable they can be.
Heimskr
While many players may not recognize his name, Heimskr is one of the first hated characters that players come across, and he only gets worse the longer one plays. This is because all Heimskr does is stand by the statue of Talos in Whiterun and deliver sermons and speeches.
Players have to walk past him and hear some of his drivel every time they go see Jarl Balgruuf, meaning it is inevitable that players will hear him repeat the same couple of lines over and over again. His point isn't entirely invalid, as the worship of the Skyrim-native god Talos was outlawed due to the White-Gold Concordat that sparked the providence's civil war, but he could definitely do with a break or a new speech.
Cicero
Cicero is one of the more controversial characters in Skyrim because many players actually really like him. Many fans think that Cicero is the best part of Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood questline, but many others find his constant giggling and insanity-driven ramblings one of the most annoying things in the game. This is made all the worse by the fact that players need to have Cicero as a follower for a quest, but at least players who can't stand him get the option to kill him later on.
Delphine
Delphine plays an integral role in the main quest line of Skyrim. As one of the few surviving Blades, Delphine lives in hiding at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. There, she eventually reveals herself to the Dragonborn and begins working with them to try and prevent the dragons from returning to reclaim the world. As the player interacts with Delphine she consistently says that as a Blade she is to serve them and help in any way that she can. Despite that, she constantly talks down to the Dragonborn, lies to them, and claims that she could kill them at any time if she wanted to. None of which is very good when the two are supposed to be saving the world together.
Bolund
The Stormcloaks in Skyrim make it hard to root for them because they tend to be the most racist characters in the game. Bolund is a staunch Stormcloak supporter, so it should come as no surprise that he is also one of the most annoyingly racist characters as well.
Operating the lumber mill in Falkreath, Bolund is especially annoying for any players playing any race other than a Nord who wants to build one of the Skyrim's Hearthfire homes, as they will have to frequently purchase lumber from him. Of course players will see him regardless, since his brother runs the general store in Falkreath, and he can often be found in there as well. The worst part of it all, however, is that every time non-Nord players cross his path, Bolund feels compelled to say that he can't believe non-Nords are even allowed in Skyrim at all.
Nelkir
Another annoying character that cannot be avoided when players have to visit Jarl Barlgruuf, Nelkir is actually the Jarl's son, and he is definitely aware of the power that his position gives him. Every time the player walks past Nelkir he can't help but make a snide remark like saying that the Dragonborn is coming to lick his father's boots. Nelkir's attitude can be improved slightly if the player does a quest that helps him out, but even then he doesn't get much less annoying to be around. There are a lot of questions players have about Whiterun years after the game's release, but a big one is why the developers put Nelkir there at all.
Lydia
For the vast majority of players, Lydia is the first follower that they have access to in the game, as she is given to the player early on in the main questline from Jarl Balgruuf. However, Lydia doesn't really want to be traveling with the Dragonborn at all, and is only doing it because she was ordered to. This makes her one of the worst out of Skyrim's 66 followers. Every time the player interacts with her, she is quick to sarcastically respond, and even her comments while adventuring are more annoying than her help is worth.
Maven Black-Briar
Maven Black-Briar is another condescending character that players have to interact with throughout a number of Skyrim's quests, especially for the Thieves Guild. While it doesn't entirely make sense, Maven requests protection from the Thieves Guild, and the player has to interact with her repeatedly as a result. However, every time the player does Maven can't stop herself from talking down to the Dragonborn. She repeatedly belittles the player, treats them as if they are a low-level employee that is easily replaced, and is all around just miserable to be around.
Belethor
Another hated character in Whiterun, Belethor runs the general store and is as greedy as they come. While talking to the player, Belethor openly admits that he would sell his own sister for the right price, and he is always greedy to sell the player any of the random junk he has collected. He also has some oddly creepy voice lines, especially when the player leaves his store, but since Whiterun is one of the biggest cities in Skyrim players who want to make some gold can't help but deal with him multiple times.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available now on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.