“Welcome to our RPG, please select your dialogue options:

1. Yes

2. sarcastic yes

3. funny yes

4. yes but later

Enjoy your ‘role play’”

Fallout 4 was a nightmare from a character standpoint. I don’t have much faith in Bethesda writing, but at least we’ll be able to have more options than the above. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll even have skill checks back.

I disagree, the voiced protagonist in Fallout 4 really limited the role playing aspects. I felt like most conversation prompts ended up being

A. Yes, I’ll do that B. Yes, I’ll do that but be a sarcastic dick about it C. No, but actually still yes I’ll do that D. Leave conversation

It isn't a trend, it is standard for Bethesda games.

I don't really want to hear my character talk in an RPG where I am making the character and supposedly have my own background, look and sound in mind and am the one selecting what that character says. Unless if they have tons of different voices, like old Bioware RPGs did, I would prefer to just read it myself and give whatever voice I want. It immerses me in the game much more, where I feel like the character I am playing because I am given opportunity to say the dialogue choices my self.

I think it all depends on what sort of game you have, specifically if it is story driven or immersion/exploration driven.

Halo Reach is story driven and would have absolutely benefitted from a voice. Mass Effect was primarily story driven and the voiced protag worked great.

Fallout 4 is the opposite and a silent protag would have been better as silent, like in Fallout 3 or Elder Scrolls games.