You can get immersed in the game for a very, very long time. You should consider playing the preceding Elder Scrolls title, Oblivion, as well. Fantastic RPGs.
I found Oblivion harder to get into. A bit too much in depth in certain aspects than Skyrim
Oblivion was the first RPG I'd played since Final Fantasy 7, and I really enjoyed it. I was glad I persisted with it. You had to be quite careful with the levelling system ; Skyrim's is better. I do get what you mean when you compare the two Elder Scrolls games against each other, though.