I don’t think the in-game history books count very much at all. That’s the flattest, laziest world building possible. They’re fine, sure, but having good “told but never shown” history is worth the least marks by a long shot.
It’s weird particularly to see that praise for Skyrim when (imo obviously) morrowind in the same series had a substantially more interesting story and world, a decade prior
There’s such a weird attitude around release of old material. Why can’t Disney+ show the star wars theatrical release? Why won’t Nintendo sell their old titles? The only possible outcome is that people get what they want and give the company cash. It’s bizarre.