I personally like Bethesda, but I'm not an apologist. I did like Oblivion and rate it highly. It had decent writing compared to what came after it. I actually remember quests from Oblivion in some detail, mostly the Dark Brotherhood and Mages Guild quest lines. The same can't be said for Skyrim at all. Except what I remember to say "(insert thing) wasn't as good as what Oblivion had". And that says a lot doesn't it? By all measures as to how Bethesda has developed games after Oblivion, graphics and game play gimmicks should trump story. But, remembering a game and its world is better. Despite Oblivion's cartoonesque graphics and down right instability, it still had better writing than Skyrim did and Fallout 3. I went from a criminal with no background and went on to save the world and do some other things.
What I dislike about Bethesda is that they are now prioritizing visuals and graphics over writing. Skyrim was a rather empty game with no thought put into it. It was all about looking at the pretty world. They had customized interiors of caves...and copy pasted quests. Visually things got repetitive in Oblivion, but at least I was doing something that distracted me from the flaws. Skyrim didn't do that. This is what I fear Fallout 4 will be, is just more visuals and gimmicks with writing and story taking the backseat, or getting left in the drive way. Which becomes the terrible thing, the games will become empty and there won't be any lore or story, it will just be a time sink, not something to be enjoyed.
As for what they could do, they could just as easily put more resources into writing or bring in Obsidian. I'm not a fan of New Vegas, but if Obsidian game crap out a game like New Vegas in less time than Fallout 4, they can make a good game in the same amount of time. I say this ignoring my issues with the plot in New Vegas and the game world and setting and so on and so forth. But that isn't the point, Bethesda can and has developed good games, its just that what we define as "good" means a good story and world; Bethesda defines "good" as makes money and looks pretty.
