Ulfric was tortured, yes. There is no denying that fact, I agree. However, how does that irrelevant fact justify a rebellion against the Empire, thus distracting the Empire against the real threat of the Dominion? He was a victim, and wanted justice... so he attacks the people NOT responsible for his torture? And how does that help your case against the Empire again? If he really wanted justice, he would find a way to bring the fight to those who actually tortured him (which would be the Thalmor, in case you forgot), and the only sensible way to do such is join with the Empire as a combined force, increasing Empire strength that is necessary to defeat the Aldmeri Dominion.
Have you ever heard of the
Great War or the
White-Gold Concordant? If you have heard of either of them, you would realize how ridiculous you sound. The Empire was not to blame for the outlaw on Talos worship. The Empire was
forced to sign the treaty that outlawed the worship of Talos. The Empire did not willingly outlaw Talos, for heavens sake, he founded the Empire, but rather, they were forced to sign the treaty. We do not wish to ban any common religious practices, in fact, the Empire did not enforce the Talos ban in Skyrim until your boyfriend Ulfric agitated the entire situation, and gave the Thalmor reason to start enforcing it, and gave the Thalmor reason to start forcing the Empire to enforce it. It is simple really, if you read the lore.
Once again, heard of the Great War?
The Empire would be taking the fight to the Dominion if it didn't have to first deal with your silly rebellion. If you had any sense, you would realize that if Skyrim really becomes independent, you have just successfully ceded yourself to the Dominion. Being a part of the Empire is the only way that Skyrim can hope to "fight back at the thalmor". A house divided will only fall, I believe that is an accurate way to state this. The only way to defeat the Dominion is to unite as one, and rebelling against the only force united in Tamriel that opposes the Dominion sure seems counter-productive.
Hold on, let me pull up some Torygg and Ulfric lore, considering you've probably never even looked at it.
Torygg a puppet of the Dominion? Alright, next joke. "
Sybille Stentor even stated that he might have stood up against the
Empire if Ulfric had asked him to
[1]." (citation - elderscrolls.wikia.com) What was that about using the game as your evidence? Torygg respected Ulfric, and had Ulfric asked him for Skyrim's independence, he would have agreed, and it would have happened. That is complete fantasy, stating that Torygg is a Thalmor puppet... Ulfric did not 'prevent' any war by killing Torygg, he started it. If he would have sat down and talked with the High King, then Skyrim would have been able to secede from the Empire, without a silly rebellion. He wanted the throne, simple as that, even if Torygg would have withdrawn from the Empire without bloodshed.
Ulfric learned the Way of the Voice, which, if you didn't know, is the peaceful use of the Voice to praise Kynareth for their gift. However, Ulfric forsake that 'gift' by using it in ways that did not follow the Way of the Voice. It is completely ridiculous to claim that the Stormcloaks are better simply because their leader has the gift of the Voice and the Empire does not. The worth of an army is most definitely based on if their leader has the power of the Voice. That's just ignorant. Besides, Ulfric is not worthy of knowing the Voice anyways, considering that he disregards the Way and uses it for personal gain.
Their leader is blatantly racist, by continuing to leave the Dunmer confined to the Grey Quarter, and continuing to leave the Argonians out on the docks, and continuing to only care about issues with Nords. Ulfric is racist. Did I ever say the entirety of the Stormcloak rebellion is racist? No, I did not, in fact. But it should be understood that by having a racist leader, it is very likely that the ideals and beliefs of said leader would have rubbed off onto their followers. Otherwise, why would they follow him, if they did not share values, ideals or beliefs?