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Because the combat is boring.

because you're more internet cool if you hate popular things

So was combat in Morrowind and everyone seems to have a hard on for that game.

Because it's just plain bad compared to previous games in the series.

As an open world game, it's pretty to look at at first... but you soon realise how devoid of depth the gameworld is, and how boring and generic the setting is. Oblivion was generic too, but at least it had charm. More importantly though, the aspects I enjoy most about open world games (immersion, discovery, exploration, etc) are completely undermined by ridiculous hand-holding features such as markers. And in general, Skyrim feels more like a contrived sandbox where everything revolves around the player rather than a believable fantasy world.

As an RPG, it's completely gutted. Character development feels terribly lacking to the point where it's basically just an action game where you pick a visual avatar for yourself, rather than actually make a unique character. Perks are implemented poorly.

As an action game, it's better than Morrowind, but still piss-poor compared to PC action-RPGs like Mount & Blade that have directional attacks and a better balance between player skill and character skill. Also, I can't stand the forced finisher moves. They're lame and undermine roleplaying.

The only redeeming thing about the game is the modding community.

Because all the things you do are the same. There's basically 3 types of dungeons that all look alike. Nearly every quest is "go here and kill this" or "go get this magical doodad. It's the shallowest of all the numbered elder scrolls games, contributing very little to the story of the outside world, and not even tying up loose ends of the previous games. Everything that Oblivion did wrong, Skyrim did worse, while throwing away much of what made Oblivion and Morrowind fantastic games.

I don't hate skyrim, I've played it for a good 373 hours, but I've had most of my fun with it and I'm not sure if I'll even go back to play the DLC I blew $20 on two months ago (EVEN THOUGH IT'S MY FAVORITE PLACE EVER).

The game is just very disappointing.

When I wandered aimlessly through Morrowind, I was captivated by the alien world and strange customs. The land itself was like nothing on earth, the people and their traditions were unique, the setting was thought provoking, and the air of sinister background knowledge was on your finger tips. I walked the earth, got lost countless times, found secret caves and treasures hidden under water. I explored the Dwemer ruins in search of artifacts to display at my home, or books on Kagrenac's Tools, the Dwemer disappearance, and rise of the Tribunal.

When I logged countless hours in Oblivion, I knew little about the lore. I was entranced by the dwemer from the previous game, but I slowly began to see the most ominous workings of the daedra now. I searched the world for books, tome after tome, and created large collections in my home of stringent knowledge on the disturbing cosmology of Tamriel, travellers to oblivion, daedric cults, and psijic philosophy. In my search I found books about most of the provinces of tamriel, with thought provoking history and often cross referenced them with the conflicting claims of many daedric cults and the Dark Brothehood. The world was rich with flavor.

Skyrim was but a grey-white rehashed fantasty in a mostly colorless world with mostly colorless people. I was happy at times to find secrets, but more often than not they were merely part of some boring quest that gave you the tiniest taste of mystery, but no information to contemplate. Dragons are boring, and moreso, annoying in this game. Adventure is not rewarded, no secrets are found. No hidden secret knowledge of the darkest dealings in the ominous fabric of Oblivion... just dragons. The vampires are boring and tasteless, the Dark Brotherhood was a faint shadow of its legendary writing in TES4, and while taking away so much of the allure of the world, they added little. I tried really hard to enjoy it, but when confronted with its flaws, I realized it was truly the letdown I was afraid of the moment I realized it was just another game to be defecated on to a plate and served for the system that ruined the gaming industry to a point it may never be repaired.

It is a sign of things to come, and an unfortunate tainting of a franchise which once inspired so much imagination and wondrous fantasy. You may not see it, but those of us who appreciate what the franchise used to embody do.