Quote Originally Posted by Weemadarthur View Post
Sorry to contradict you but the game was built with stealth very much in mind and initially stealth was frequently the better option for quest completion. The problem arose over time though that certain stealth mechanics were abused and eventually "invisi zerging" became the norm. As has become the norm in recent years rather than fix the actual issue they instead just nerfed the playstyle into obsolescence.

So although I agree in the modern game your surmise is correct this was not always the case. Stealth was originally a very viable option and a major part of the game. That is why a lot of old time players still lament it's loss.
Some quests even have bonuses for NOT killing things.