Gotta be pretty young to like Fallout 3. 4 does a better job at the whole aimless romp concept I feel. I can't even be bothered to get the dlc or mod it though.
I can't get very far in 3 anymore. Game crashes incessantly. 4 is a fun game for me, just not a great "Fallout" game. Honestly, you should get the FO4 DLCs, especially Far Harbor. It's a better "Fallout game" than the base game. Take Nick with you. It really is his DLC.