Your Favorite/Least Favorite Jarl?

I like Brina Merilis, mainly because she is ex Legion and is actually a great Jarl.

I like Tullius, he isn't a Jarl but he has been appointed the Military Governor which makes him acting Head of State until the Moot meets, I understand what he's going through because the Jarls are all largely independent and they're stubborn so they don't listen to him. Tullius is also smart enough to avoid Skyrim politics, those in the Blue Palace complain a little that he is too busy with the war instead of focusing on other things. There is Legate Rikke who takes over for Tullius in politics since he doesn't understand the Nord ways. But Tullius' frustration with Jarls is at least made known. I find it funny because I think people can relate to him on that one.

Tullius: "You people and your damn Jarls."
Rikke: "Sir? You can't force a Nord to accept help he hasn't asked for."

But Rikke ends up doing more political things, "The General's put me in charge of assisting the new governments. I may understand things here in Skyrim better than the General, but I'm a soldier at heart, not a politician. But I'll do my best. This is the land of my birth, the land that shaped me. I'm proud to have any part in making it strong again."

Other than that I don't really care for Jarls, politics are never perfect and you're never going to agree with each Jarl.

Favorite Jarl : Ulfric Stormcloak. hes awesome because hes a leader of a rebellion to over rule the Empire and he's all for freedom of Skyrim.
Disliked Jarl: Siddgeir Jarl of Falkreath. Hes a lazy ass.

DrunkenMage said:

I like Brina Merilis, mainly because she is ex Legion and is actually a great Jarl.

I like Tullius, he isn't a Jarl but he has been appointed the Military Governor which makes him acting Head of State until the Moot meets, I understand what he's going through because the Jarls are all largely independent and they're stubborn so they don't listen to him. Tullius is also smart enough to avoid Skyrim politics, those in the Blue Palace complain a little that he is too busy with the war instead of focusing on other things. There is Legate Rikke who takes over for Tullius in politics since he doesn't understand the Nord ways. But Tullius' frustration with Jarls is at least made known. I find it funny because I think people can relate to him on that one.

Tullius: "You people and your damn Jarls."
Rikke: "Sir? You can't force a Nord to accept help he hasn't asked for."

But Rikke ends up doing more political things, "The General's put me in charge of assisting the new governments. I may understand things here in Skyrim better than the General, but I'm a soldier at heart, not a politician. But I'll do my best. This is the land of my birth, the land that shaped me. I'm proud to have any part in making it strong again."

Other than that I don't really care for Jarls, politics are never perfect and you're never going to agree with each Jarl.

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Even though Tullius ordered your execution just because you were there? I had a hard time letting that go.

Favorite: Baalgruf. or Vignar. Jarl of Whiterun in any case.
Least: Maven. Would remove her if possible.

I would like to send Maven Black-Briar to hell. I don't like her at all. She is very conceited and she does believe she is a goddess. I had to do a lot of stuff in Riften to become a Thane and after she said to me : " it will favor me to have you by my side instead not .... " she said that after she found out that I was in charge of the Thieves Guild, did a lot of favor to a lot of people in that City and matter of fact, she was the last one to make me a Thane. I was about to give up and that is why I do not like her. Unfortunately, Jarls can not be killed cause if we could, believe me I would send her to Oblivion.
The other Jarl that is an idiot is the one in Falkreath but in compare to Maven, there is not question. I would like to cut her head off !
The one that I do like the most is the Jarl in Solitude. She is very sweet and what a pity that we can not marry her. After her, the second I do like most is the Jarl of Whiterun.

Moonwort said:

Even though Tullius ordered your execution just because you were there? I had a hard time letting that go.

Favorite: Baalgruf. or Vignar. Jarl of Whiterun in any case.
Least: Maven. Would remove her if possible.

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Technically he didn't order your execution. You're alone with Hadvar and the Captain when you step forward to give your name/create character, Tullius is all the way over in front of Ulfric. The Captain dies in Helgan anyway, consider that revenge for trying to kill you. Condemning all would be as Kodlak puts it "Taking more lives than honor demanded."

I can let it go, since everyone in Skyrim damn near tries to kill you. Besides they're at war, and with the Thalmor taking an interest in the prisoners (They arrive at Helgan to stop the execution) I would execute all the prisoners also, if it is something the Thalmor are behind you don't mess about. Thousands died the last time a Thalmor plan was left unchecked, Legion wouldn't make that mistake again. Besides you are actually believed to be a Stormcloak the other prisoner Lokir was asking the Stormcloaks to tell the Legionnaires that you and him aren't Stormcloaks.

Taking things into Imperial view, you capture the most wanted man in the Empire, his personal bodyguards, a horse thief and an unknown, who could be a contact of Ulfric or a spy etc. Even Ulfric thinks you're a criminal, and you shared a carriage ride with him. "So long as your criminal past stays in the past, and you fight for me with honor and integrity, we'll welcome you into our ranks."

Tullius does at least kind of apologize, "I'm sure your being imprisoned was all a terrible misunderstanding."

I actually don't mind Maven, she ran the city anyway. The Jarl before her was even worse, Laila Law-Giver had a personal carriage prepared in the event Riften is attacked, she says something like "If Riften should fall, be only fair her leader be spared" Or something along those lines.

I do like the Imperial Jarls slightly more than Stormcloak Jarls, not all the Jarls are perfect there are bad Jarls on both sides but Imperial Jarls seem to care more for the citizens, but politics are never perfect. I like some Empire supporting Jarls and some Stormcloak supporting Jarls, but have to take the lesser of two evils, Jarl Kraldar of Winterhold (Imperial victory) is quite nice he doesn't hate the College and doesn't blame the Mages for what happened. He is actually personal friends with Savos Aren.

I don't really spend too much time with the Jarls, but these are the ones that I think are alright.


Dawnstar - Jarl Brina Merilis is better than Skald

Falkreath - I actually like Dengeir when he becomes Jarl

Markarth - Igmund, the Silver-Bloods aren't the type of people I would want as Jarls, they use the Forsworn as assassins.

Morthal - Idgrod Ravencrone, she's quite nice.

Riften - I don't mind Maven, she is a tough woman, she already runs the city and the last Jarl was openly talking about escape plans for herself in front of her subjects. Not the most inspiring of leaders.

Solitude - Elisif remains in either victory, I do like her and she does care for her people.

Whiterun - Balgruuf he sets you on the path to be Dragonborn, he faced Galmar and the Dragonborn in combat, he was the only Jarl concerned about his people first, more concerned about the Dragons than Ulfric, Ulfric was only concerned about Dragons slaughtering his countrymen when he could get some land out of peace talks.

Windhelm - Brunwulf Free-Winter, he's a good man and cares about all races within his Hold, unlike Ulfric's policy of ignoring bandit raids when other races are attacked in his Hold, but first to sound the horn when Nords are attacked, I disliked that quite a bit. Doesn't matter what race they are, if they're in your Hold the innocent citizens are under your care.

Winterhold - Kraldar, he doesn't hate the Mages College, doesn't hate anyone interesting in learning magic, is personal friends with the Archmage, much more suited for Jarl to mend relations with the College and the Nords.

Maven Black Briar is a favourite being in the Thieves Guild and Elsie the Fair in Solitude. She can sit a chair properly not like some of them. Appearances are everything. The guy at Whiterun can slouch as much as he likes he's getting no dragons killed.

Favourite Jarl: Jarl Balgruuf the Greater.
Reasons:
1) The man gives you gear early game to help you out, gear which is incredibly useful and will pretty much help define what you want to do as you progress through your levels.
2) He gives you Thane after killing a dragon and doing remedial 5-15 minute tasks.
3) In the Civil War, he is noted (as said in previous posts) as being the guy who's pro-Whiterun, not pro-imperial nor pro-stormcloak, however, if you side with the Stormcloaks, he will turn Imperial, and show great disappointment in you when you fight him for his hold. And that just broke my heart. At this point in the game I was on the verge of tears because I'm like, "Wait a minute, Balgruuf didn't turn Stormcloak with me?"
4) Balgruuf's policies on Whiterun are simply awesome. I could also see him turn into the High King, easy. And Breezehome rocks.

Best Jarl:
The Best Jarl is not my favorite, but simply has the best policies.
This Jarl is easily Idgrod Ravencrone. She pretty much tells her people to shut up and sit down, and gives her place the best policies in the limited Skyrim Politics. She is also noted for being on the side of Morthal, not the side of the Imperials nor Stormcloaks.

But lets take a look at Morthal: the place around Morthal is a dump, but Morthal itself is a pretty nice town. It's noted for being a quiet little place to settle down, and sure is. I love being in Morthal. Maybe not Hjaalmarch, but Morthal is fantastic. Not to mention it has a thriving mining scene, as well.
My Least Favourite Jarl: Maven Black-Briar.

There is no person in Skyrim who I'd love to A) save before I kill and B) Repeatedly kill over and and over and over again. If I had ever experienced any rage against an NPC, it is this vile woman. Literally she is the worst of the bunch, and the fact that it's "mandatory" that she becomes Jarl after assisting the Imperials (who put in better Jarls in the other Holds besides her) is absolutely atrocious. I would love to be able to take over Riften after taking over the Thieves' Guild, or install someone who is more morally right than her. Not to mention, her competitor in Whiterun, Honningbrew Meadery, is simply superiour in every way.

Worst Jarl: Korir.

The man is simply useless. No one listens to him because he's useless, and he does nothing to rebuild Winterhold. The other Jarl really doesn't have more dialogue but is still more useful than Korir.
Korir disapproves of the College of Winterhold, which is stupid, because The College is the only thing really holding Winterhold down. Korir could have easily rebuilt his city, but instead chose to just be useless. Or rather, the game designers did. Regardless, Korir sucks.

This is a semi-organized list.

Idgrod Ravencrone: Suffice to say, early in the game on my first character before I really understood that the civil war was really really complicated, I greatly disliked the Imperials and was completely surprised to find out that Ravencrone was technically allied with the Empire. She was effectively the first character that made me give a second thought as to what was really going on in Skyrim.

Balgruuf the Greater: He's not obviously helpful, but he keeps Whiterun neutral and I respect him greatly for that. Especially being stuck in the middle of it all.

Elisif the Fair: She's annoying and overtly whiny, but her husband was just killed and she has a hold to run and a war to worry about. She tries and therefore she can't be criticized... much.

Ulfric Stormcloak: He's an a**. That's it. Decent Jarl and very passionate, but also annoying and quite narrow-minded. On the other hand, he's not worse than:

Maven Black-Briar: Just. No. I can't handle her and her family. I (even in my RP) completely detest the Black-Briar family. They all need to just. Nope. Nope. Nope. All the way to Oblivion.

I'm really annoyed that I'm going to have to turn Riften over to her once I get to Season Unending. (I've planned out the territorial forfeits/compensations so that I don't favor either side and because my character refuses to take a side in the civil war, I have to give Riften to the Imperials.)

Favorites:
Balgruuf
Brunwulf Free-Winter
Elisif the Fair

Least Favorite:
Skald the elder
Korir
Thongvor Silver-Blood

Favorite:

1. Redoran leader in Solstheim. Dude gave my character 20,000 septims and a house with EVERYTHING in it for saving his life.
2. Elisif. Oh, how I wish my female characters could marry her. I cannot wait to get a PC for this

Least:

1. Balgruuf. What a tool (childish? I know). Such a fake ass. I can see right through his act.

2. Ulfrich. My character single-handedly won you the war, and even gave you an advantage in Season Unending, yet she has to pay to live in your city? Ungrateful b1tch

EDIT:

MAVEN BLACK BRIAR. I hate her. Oh, that glorious day when I get a PC. First thing I'll do is make a junk character just to run to Riften, save, then kill her over and over and over.

Wow...I must be the only person who likes Siddgeir. Yeah, he's done some controversial things before, but unlike other jarls, he doesn't really have a stubborn sense of honor like Balgruuf. He simply does what he needs to for his hold. He always strikes me as a very sly, carfty and pragmatic person.

Imperials4life said:

Wow...I must be the only person who likes Siddgeir. Yeah, he's done some controversial things before, but unlike other jarls, he doesn't really have a stubborn sense of honor like Balgruuf. He simply does what he needs to for his hold. He always strikes me as a very sly, carfty and pragmatic person.

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I luv Siddgeir myself.

1) Balgruff
2) Maven (after Imperial takeover in Riften)
3) Siddgeir
4) Elisif

The rest can go take a fig.

Least Favorite:

1) Ulfric
2) Ulfric
3) Ulfric
4) What His Name in Markarth (either side of the civil war)

Holy thread necromancy!!!!!!!!!!!! This one's been dead over a year!!! I applaud you for digging that deep into the Forum Crypt!

My previous opinion still stands: I like Balgruf, the man knows who's side he's on

I hate that prick in Falkreath, his attitude alone makes me want to remove his head

Edit: Almost a year, not over a year. Either way it's impressive

I vote Siddgeir, because I think his petulance is just a ruse. And I can sleep in his bed if I end up in Falkreath at night.

My favorite Jarl is Ulfric Stormcloak, he's a true leader who knows how to inflame his followers' passion, and in my eyes he truly does want what's best for Skyrim. Sure he wants the throne but how else will he make the necessary changes? As for my least favorite, I'd have to say Siddgeir slightly beats out Skald, slightly. Both are arrogant bastards who only care about themselves and demean their subordinates. The only thing for me that makes Siddgeir worse than Skald is that Siddgeir kisses the Thalmor's behind at Elenwen's little parties.

My favorite Jarl has to be Jarl Igmund. He's a cool and cautious leader who understands what needs to be done.
My least favorite Jarl is Jarl Ulfric. He's an arrogant and immature leader who does everything for his own interests.

For me the most hated Jarl ended up being Thongvar Silver-Blood, mostly because the first time I did Season Unending I hadn't realised that if the Hold's changed hands, the Jarls did too and I got a nasty shock when Arngier said Laila and Ingmund were stepping down, and Maven and Thongvar were stepping up. Realising I'd yet again helped the Silver-Bloods was especially painful for me as I'd chosen to kill the Forsworn King and escape alone, something I regretted afterwards when Thongvar was saying his brother had told him what a helpful service I'd performed and that brother kept saying: "Divines smile on you friend" when I passed him. Hearing I'd yet again unwittingly increased the power they wielded in Markarth made me feel ill.

Favorite is Jarl Bagruuf (probably butchered), and least Favorite is Ulfric.

Ulfric, for obvious reasons. I shouldn't have to explain this one to people who support the Legion. Siddgeir is a spoiled little prick, too.

My favorites are Elisif and Idgrod.

My favorite Jarl is Ulfric, because my favorite character is Ulfric. I could spend hours explaining why and arguing against the "Ulfric is racist" spiel, but suffice it to say, I believe he is acting in Skyrim's best interests, and while he may not be the best politician, he is a great leader.

I also enjoy Dengeir of Falkreath, whether or not he's currently Jarl. That guy is just good comedy.

I don't think I really have a least favorite out of the original Jarls; I don't hold any special love for most of them, but I don't hate any of them, either. However, if we're counting Maven Black-Briar—who has never been and will never be Jarl in my game, because NOPE—then I'd say she's my least favorite. Oh, how I despise her.