I think he's referring to side quests you come across, like that small band of wanna-be Mercs you come across in the Daggerfall zones, with the 2 stupid brothers, the orc and Vanys, on my favorites TBH. They had better consider me an honorary member, they wouldn't exist if it weren't for me.

I had the same feeling - when a Lion Guard in Glenumbra asks me when I am a new recruit and forced answer of my character is "no Im adventurer" makes me really sad. I play a templar there and this faction would be really accurate for it, but Im forced to play an adventurer all the time Im not that kind of player who just does all quests with an attitude like - ok,I did everything and Im happy its completed and he just counts his stats and lvls and doesnt care about anything else. When I play my character in such beatiful world I would like to feel Im really there so I would like to be able to join the factions there and maybe even get their uniform as a disguise. The same for Morrowind - I would like to be able to join temple or became a soldier of Great Houses. Now it is more like I jump from one quest to another without any connections. It is good in some cases, but it is too much for me already. The small factions would be something that would guide me through zones with quests that have the same theme - so I wouldnt be forced to explore a mysterious ruin and jump to a bunch of bandits next to it,then deal with ghosts just next to a village full of zombies. I cannot concentrate and enjoy it as much as if it would be more in a themed bundle.

Another reason for making the small fractions joinable is that most of the quests are help in some kind of threat, but I miss somehow more peaceful quests which would just show how the tribe lives. So ppl who dont want that kind of quests would just skip that, but players who would like to know more about the tribe could be able to join them and do more RP like quests for them.

For example I was sad that I helped Wyrdess in Glenumbra, but after the victory they were just sitting at a tree and doing nothing. If I would be able to join them, I would be able to do the common, ordinary things for them, like to prepare a feast, gathering fruits and take care about trees or whatever they do. Also it would give me the amount of xps that is needed to skip questline that doesnt fit my RP. The same for Lion Guards - I could sharpen their weapons or repair their armours, and I wouldn't have to save trees with Wyrdess if my toon actually hates trees and he would gladly burn them to the ground.

Also if there is a player guild focused for example on Ashlanders, it would give them a place where they could gather and have fun. Also it could be a place where could be added features for guilds - things they could do together, not just fighting.