I agree 100%. This needs to be fixed. It's annoying. I often find myself trying to just tell the Jarl about Riverwood because I want them to be safe from dragons, and I like having the guards there, but it kicks me off on another quest. Why can't I just say "NO I DO NOT WANT TO DO YOUR QUEST."?
Yea, I think the quest menu is the worst thing about Skyrim. It could be fixed in a very simple way. Sorting by hold or faction.
Example:
Main
Will someone please think of the children!
Legion/Stormcloak
Go kill stuff
Whiterun Hold
Chicken Kicker
Pie Master
The Rift
OOOH SHINIES!!!
The Companions
Go beat up that guy because, erm, he like, deserves it... or something...
Misc
Now, clicking The Companions would display that quest. Kind of like a drop down box. Now, by default, all boxes would be UNOPENED. INSTEAD OF HOW IT IS IN BLOODY WORLD OF WARCRAFT WHERE EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY IS OPEN WHEN YOU LAUNCH THE DAMN GAME!
Anyway, I don't get why they didn't just do this, or something similar. Keeping track of your quests is a nightmare as it is now. Which is why I do my questing per hold now. I won't move on from a hold until I've done what I think is most of the quests.
I think i know exactly what your saying, i like to keep a neat journal and i dont appreciate having a list as long as my arm, especially if they are things that i dont want to do! Ive found that if you just hit circle (ps3) when random folk approach, you can stop the quest being started. The redguards at the entrance to whiterun always catch me out.
Lol I know what you mean...I had to dedicate something like 1 hour (ended up in 2) to just clear ALL my misc quests! After 2 hours I gave up. I ended up with almost so many quests as the ones I started with. Dam, every one in that game needs help!!! ^^
I think however that, it isn't in fact something bad. It's always fun to go kill a bandit group just to try some spells or weapons out!
Well, you can say no to the quests can't you? Seems to me like there is almost always the option to say, "Yes, I can help you right now" or "No, I'm busy" or some such. So I'm not really sure what you're talking about. I'm always worried about saying no because I don't want to miss out on a quest.