They count as part of the series as far as I'm concenred. I mean, Elder scrolls says it all. You lose, try again.
As long as the ES series have flat and bring characters who speak like robots in their dialogue, non existent stories, bugs up the wazoo, unbalanced combat that is just too easy as well as being boring, the ability to "train' by jumping up in one spot, 800 caves that look the same, 1st person view or 3rd person pseudo view that sucks; the games will continue to be awful.
Don't ya feet ES fanchildren. The games do get something right - you can go most anywhere you want and do pretty much everything. It's just too bad it's soooooo boring. And, the character creation system is ok.
See, i'm not all negative.
P.S. Yes, yes. As a reminder, the above is my opinion so stop whining about iut. Afterall, that's what the thread asks for.