I don't hate Skyrim. I've spent about 100 hours in game so far. There are a number of things I really dislike about the game though.
The biggest issue I have with Skyrim is that it's ridiculously dumbed down. The ES series always had a deep level up system that allowed for player choice ie. str, sta etc. The class system, use major/minor skills to level up worked well for the game world and helped to differenciate between a warrior and say a mage or a hybrid. Now it's just oh, do what ever you want, use what ever you want and it all advances the player in level. In short, it makes ppl a jack of all trades, master of none.
As others have said, the UI and menus are giant steps backwards. Often times I feel like I am fighting with the menus or the UI. For a game that streamlined those aspects it's frustrating to feel like you're fighting the menus/UI.
It's not a bad game at all, it has the potential to be one of the best western RPG's ever released, but when coupled with the bugs, dumbing down and wretched menus it's just average.