Couldn't agree more with your number one. DOS 2 landed on the second place in my personal list (just slightly beaten by Breath of the Wild).
This is the closest gaming has got to the sense that there's a human inside your computer making up stories and experiences just for you as you go along.
Good summary. The ways you discover and stumble upon stories and interesting situations in this game are simply amazing. You pick up some cryptic note from someone, turns out this points at something you come across a couple of hours later, simply by accident.
The world truly feels like (to use a huge cliché) a living and breathing world.
Have you finished it btw?
Yes, I certainly have. I usually play one game at a time, sometimes two if different types, and see it through before moving on. For the entire month of October, I only played DOS2 and Forza 7.
I do plan another replay, with a certain character I found out plays a significant role in the narrative. Would be an entirely different experience to play with said character! I'll wait for the inevitable "Enhanced Edition" before doing so.
I poured 86 hours into my playthrough. Don't think I can do that again in the near future. :-)
And, I think I know who you mean. Won't mention the name, because I don't want to spoil anything for other readers. But yeah, actually making some of those decisions at the end would be kinda neat if you play that character yourself.