>>3808445
>>3808471
>>3808660
>>3808666
>>3809216
>>3809391
>>3809400
>>3810758
>>3818796
>>3820878
For me the decision was really simple:

The Empire are the guys who wanted to behead me for no fucking reason.
Like, Zero.

All I did was cross the border and apparently this was enough to casually warrant my execution.
Obviously as I am running for my life after the dragon attack I dont side with the dude who just a second earlier went "Oh yeah, you are going to be executed for no reason, sucks to be you. my bad bro ".

This already frames in my head that the Imperial Influence is callous at best and completely indifferent about injustice or cruelty at worst.
And this continues throughout the game. In Whiterun I encounter a family whose family members were taken away by the secret elf police for following the wrong faith and members of the rival family who snitched on them gleefully mock them for it.
During travels I encounter a shrine of Talos where a secret police Elf massacred a bunch of Nord citizens or the secret police transporting prisoners to god knows where to never be seen again.
In Solitude I witness the execution of a guard whose only crime seems to be that he didn't close the gate fast enough and allowed Nord-Hitler to flee and because the Imperium needs a scapegoat he gets promptly murdered.

My point being that unless you are a total leftist NPC whose only problem seems to be "nationalism bad!" the game shows you exactly zero reasons in-Character to side with the Imperium or even consider the Imperial Rule of Skyrim a benevolent rule or a good thing.

Ergo: If you think that Imperial Rule is better for Skyrim after having played the game you are a metagamer.