I just had an interesting idea for how a Fallout game could handle its protagonist, that I think is a good compromise between Bethesda-style protagonists and a more RPG like protagonist.
The game opens on a train that is heading to the setting of the game (Chicago, NYC, whatever), and there are 3 characters sitting in one of the passenger cars: a Vault Dweller, a Wastelander, and a Settler. Each of these characters have established backstories and personalities, as well as preset names and SPECIAL stats (Vault Dweller has high Intelligence, Wastelander has high Endurance, Settler has high Strength, etc.). The player is able to change the name and stats, as well as the gender and appearance of the character they select, and there are changes to dialogue depending on things like the Intelligence and Charisma stat, but they will still have an established backstory and personality, and the character will be voiced. The Vault Dweller is a young, naive and obedient type, the Wastelander is a cynical, no-nonsense type, and the Settler is a friendly easy-going type, and speaks in a southern accent. In addition to these 3 characters, there is another character, a Stowaway hiding in one of the luggage compartments. This character will be a complete blank slate for the character to customize, and will not have voiced dialogue options.
Suddenly, an explosion rocks the train and it begins to tip over and derail. As this happens, the screen cuts to black right on impact and the player character’s life flashes before their eyes, which functions as the tutorial (kind of like Fallout 3). For the Vault Dweller, we see them participate in a training regimen preparing them for the wasteland shortly before leaving the Vault. For the Wastelander, we see flashbacks throughout their life of their mentor figure (the Wastelander is an orphan) teaching them how to survive. For the Settler, we see flashbacks of them in their settlement with their large family teaching them various life skills. For the Stowaway, the landscape around them is a pure white with simple shapes floating around, and the tutorial is done in an abstract manner (for example, a gun is just floating in the air and after picking it up a text prompt tells you how to use it).
The character then wakes up on the wall of the tipped over train compartment, with the other player characters on the ground unconscious, as the sounds of gunfire erupt in the vicinity. There is a 10mm pistol (belonging to the Wastelander) on the ground in front of you, and as you pick it up, you hear walking above you and a raider jumps down from one of the broken windows. He begins looking around and spots the player character moving and begins aiming his SMG at you. There is then a slowed-down time effect (like Jet in F4) and the player is then able to kill the raider with the 10mm pistol. As the other characters begin to wake up (sans the Stowaway if you were not playing as them, in which case they never got knocked out of their compartment), the sounds of gunfire intensify outside, but begin to be drowned out by rapid-fire laser blasts, the whoosh of a flamethrower, and the screams of the raiders. A Mr Gutsy (the train’s security) then flys into the room, having dispatched the raiders with his weaponry. He inquires about the status of the passengers, and the other characters say they are alright, realizing that the player character had just saved their lives. Everyone then disembarks from the train, and the other characters give the player character items as a token of their appreciation. The Vault Dweller gives you their Pip-boy, the Wastelander allows you to keep their 10mm pistol and gives you some ammo for it, and the Settler gives you 100 caps and several bottles of Nuka-Cola (obviously if the player character is already one of those 3 characters they will have their respective item already in their inventory). You then go your separate ways into the wasteland…