"Ah yes, we've been expecting you. You'll have to be recorded before you're officially released. There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours."
Yep, still the best. Skyrim comes close, but I realized as I turned on Morrowind in the other room while my GF played Skyrim that I don't miss the improved combat at all (Morrowind's combat is remedied pretty easily, actually, by crafting a Constant Effect Restore Fatigue item early on and equipping it. Makes for a sweet first goal when striking out in this dangerous island for the first time)
I also don't miss the Radiant AI crap either. My mind filled in those blanks just fine when I first played Morrowind and it still does. I don't need to see Socucious Ergalla go to sleep at night, eat cheese for breakfast and write in his scrolls because in my head he already is.
Maybe it's nostalgia, but when I read a book in Morrowind there comes a point where I realize "I'm reading a book in a game. I live in this world, I'm learning its lore and I don't know what I'm gonna do next." I think the fact that it isn't this combat-focused game means that I focus that much more on actually living in the place. Vvardenfell is also...frickin Vvardenfell. I don't think I'll ever see a setting as unique as that one for an RPG again.
Vvardenfell feels like reading the world-building in Lord of the Rings, while Skyrim feels like being the subject of a power metal song. It's a great feeling but I also don't feel too motivated to explore Skyrim as a foreign world full of strange politics, odd religions and alien customs from mine. Not yet anyway. I'm just doing missions and killing shit because FUCK THAT WOLF IM GONNA KICK IT IN THE FACE.
Maybe with more time I'll fall in love with Skyrim as a world, but right now, 15 hours in, Morrowind is unquestionably still the king.