Have you ever had the sense that none of the great houses really feel as though they could be a home for your PC?
To me, it seems as though each of the houses makes for an awkward fit in some ways. Theoretically, the best house for magic users is Telvanni... but they tend to be mercenary, ruthless and isolationist; they also support slavery. What if your fledgling mage is actually the warm and fuzzy peacenik type?
Or, there is House Redoran, technically the best place for fighters. However, the Redorans are generally pious and honour-bound. What if you have a Nord barbarian who has never set foot in a religious building and doesn't give a damn about honour?
House Hlaalu is probably the easiest to reconcile of the three (on Vvardenfell) houses, but there are problems here and there too.
So, the second point of this thread is: If you were creating a Great House-like faction what would you do?
Some Rules
* Keep it as lore-friendly as possible (yes, I know there's a contradiction in there somewhere
* It has to fit into the atmosphere of the game
* While it can't actually be a Great House, it is enough like a Great House in terms of political clout and allegiance that the same restrictions apply: i.e you can't join any other houses.
My idea, still undeveloped, would be to create an order called "The Knights of Azura."
This organization, secretly founded by a select few in the Temple hierarchy (or Dissident Priests?), the Imperial Cult, and the Legion is dedicated to creating a bridge between Vvardenfell's two religious organizations. Their greater mission is to bring about a smooth co-existence between native Dunmer and "Outlanders," and, in fact, they were instrumental in your character being released into Morrowind.. (for obvious reasons).
The knights of Azura focus on Restoration magic, (possibly Illusion) and Speechcraft. While there would be healing missions, many of these missions would be as much about metaphorical healing and diplomacy. For example, quests would include having to negotiate disputes between individual Temple and Cult members.. or disputes between both Imperial factions and native factions.
This for starters anyway.
OK, over to you