I've played through Skyrim 7-8 times, using different characters, on the PS3, so no mods for me. That first playthrough was about playing it as I'd play other games. It was only later that I really grasped the 'sandbox' concept. After the first time, my various characters have all stared as stealth archers, my favorite way to play. Each then branches out from there as I wrote a backstory for each character, his history, ethics and drives. Doing the same quest or dungeon has a diffferent meaning when seen through a different character's eyes.
For example, two of my favorite playthroughs look like this: a good guy, dedicated to Justice, joins the Companions and becomes a werewolf and the Mage's College to study Destruction Magic and the conjugation of elemental demons for backup, using his bow and daggers less as his power grows. He follows the main quest to save the world, joins the Dawnguard,destroys the Dark Brotherhood and travels Skyrim fighting vampire and dragons and generally doing good.
Another character is angry, alienated, and makes his living stealing. He gets infected with vampirism, joins the Thieves' Guild and Dark Brotherhood, learns how to control minds and raise the dead at the Mage's college, and sides with the vampires in Dawnguard. He also uses his bow and daggers less and less as his power grows. Eventually he's cleared my entire re dungeons without enemies ever knowing he was there. He's never heard of the Dragonborn.
I love the game for giving me the freedom to have created and played these characters, and I accept the responsibility for making my own fun. There was a point where my playtime in Skyrim matched every other game I've played combined. I didn't put in all those hours because of 'hype,' and neither are all the others who've put in so many hours.