ZOS wanted racial options to be more universally applicable instead of 1 race fits 1 playstyle – I believe they’ve achieved this for the most part.

This is from a pve stam sorc DD perspective that NEEDED to use Redguard for years in pve.

I wanted to compare RG to Orc and Wood Elf. Didn’t have time for Khajiit, Imperial and Dunmer, but my conclusion is the same.

What equipment I used.
All tests came out to 42500 – 43500 dps, with Orc sometimes slightly ahead by 200-400 dps.

Highest potential dps goes to Orc here – if they can sustain with synergies in a group, they become more versatile because they can play around with reg via jewelry. Bloodthirsty+reg or infused+reg while RG and Wood Elf can really only swap out stormfist or move the absorb stam to dw and the dmg enchant to bow for more dmg.

If each race provides about the same dps/sustain in THIS scenario, choosing the race you want widely depends on the unique passives they provide because you can make up for sustain through gear.

Redguard

• +15 min to buff food
• 8% cost reduction on weapon skill ultimates – YEP, this is a thing. W/ 15% (sorc) and 8% cost reduction, Ballista costs 139 instead of 175.
• Higher sustain in combat if using weapon skill as a spammable, lower sustain outside of combat.

Orc

• 10% inspiration gain
• +4% healing received
• 10% sprint speed + 12% sprint cost reduction
• Balanced between in combat and out of combat regen if you require that 1 sta reg glygh.
• Minor 380 health return every 4 sec.

Wood Elf

• -10% fall dmg
• +20% movement speed (better than sprint speed) for 4 seconds after dodge roll
• Best sustain due to in and out of combat regen nature of higher sta regen vs reliance of being in combat of RG and Orc.
• Poison resistance and status effect immunity.
• 3m + detection range (doubt this will make it through pts if ZOS listens to player feedback)

Final thoughts.
RG actually falls a little behind here imo, I’m not saying they need a buff, it's in a good place. If players understand they have the ability to swap stats within gear to achieve the sustain they need while also looking at how well that sustain functions in actual application, we find RG fits a very specific niche to become fully utilized. This is even more apparent since their sustain is based on being in combat.

If you were any other class, but a stam sorc I’d highly debate switching race because you miss out on 4-5x casts of your spammable in a rotation not having 8% cost reduction as well as class based ultimate options. It’s up to you if you find that worth it.

The 8% cost reduction on ultimate’s while sounding awesome is niche as well. It puts you in a position of wanting to use weapon ultimate’s instead of anything else, but the reality is you have only 3 weapon options and only 1 can be used. Most people use flawless dawnbreaker front bar because 8% wpd is too good to pass. That means in a bow/bow, dw/bow or 2h/bow setup, your only option IS ballista.

• Templars have Biting Jabs and Empowering Sweep
• NB have Surprise attack and Incap
• Wardens have Cutting Dive and Bear
• DK's have Venomous Claw and Standard of Might
• Stam sorcs have rending slashes/crushing weapon and Greater Strom Atro

Obviously a lot of people like using Balista, but same can be said about using crushing weapon as a cheap/single target spammable. RG shoehorns you in to a specific playstyle.

My point is, if you fit the specific niche of a weapon spammable and weapon ultimate, RG might be best for you.

I can see how a heavy RG in pvp might actually be pretty strong, given the fact that you're missing the necessary multipliers for sta regen to be very effective and your options for ultimates are more than JUST balista.

If you want a race more versatile for more than just stam DD, Wood Elf and Orc have much more universaly applicable passives and I don't see them far behind RG. Dunmer and Khajiit appear to share that conclusion, even more so because theyr'e now hybrid races, you could swap to mag DD if you wanted to.

My suggestion.
I'd prefer 4-5% cost reduction on all abilities, basically the templar passive. Less shoe horning you in to a specific playstyle while also providing more utility to anyone using RG as a mag character, they rely on class skills more than stam specs, so it makes more sense for versatiliy here too.

If the ultimate reduction had to be dropped for balancing, I'd understand and support it, however I really don't think 4% on everything is too strong and should be considered.