Hello everyone i have been playing through fallout 4 quite abit and i definatley like the brotherhood the most out of all the factions and i did like them in previous games and i usually go for the more militaristic factions, none of the other factions really seemed that appealing to me even though the minutemen are clearly the good guys

I liked the minutemen quite a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the country bumpkin vibe, but I'm hoping to replace some of it with a more partisan or scrappy feel when the GECK comes around. 

I didn't side with the Brotherhood my first playthrough, but doing so now it feels like they really put a lot of time into this faction. Honestly I also really like characters that have borderline zealot beliefs and convictions. They're just so uncompromising. Crusaders really.

Like you I usually go for militaristic too, and the Brotherhood sells their purpose so well it's hard not to join them.

See, this was a fallout game where every single one of the factions inflicted on moral's so much. I took like two weeks to decide who i had to get rid of so to speak. In the end, I chose the brotherhood of steel for my first playthrough. Just because of the fact that i didn't think they would clash with everyone else. What annoyed me though is no matter who you chose, you were destroying multiple factions one way or another. I think the next one was minutemen after brotherhood of steel. Still hated the fact that there wasn't a clear concise these guys are evil type of thing.

Well, honestly I chose the BOS for my first play through... seeing as they were the BOS and they struck me as very grim and focused often harsh but not unnecessarily violent to the citizenry...

Second Play through I chose the Institute and instantly regretted the choice after seeing what they were doing, what they thought of everyone that wasnt them and their ultimate plans for the people of the wasteland...

but to sum it up and the reasons why...

1.  Institute Conducts Experiments on unwilling test Subjects... Nazi's conduct experiments on unwilling test subjects.

2.  Institute is rounding up Civilians from the commonwealth to kill via FEV tests and just to kill because they are there.... Nazi's... rounded up Gypsys, Jews, Russians... everyone non them.. and killed them.

3.  Institute is working to replace all non institute persons with Synths as the rest of the commonwealth is worthless, (Institute NPC's are talking about wiping out the surface so they can start over)  Nazi's wanted to wipe out pretty much everyone who isn't them and doesn't agree with them.

4.  Institute is trying to erase free will via limiting knowledge to themselves and creating Synths as the surface race who are blindly loyal to the institute...  Nazi's book burning extravaganza...

5.  Institute hunts down Synths that don't agree with them, killing or mind wiping them for disagreeing with the Institute Policies.  (Hence the railroad exists to protect them and their right to have a will and life of their own)  Many Germans were also afraid of the Nazi Party but feared for the lives of their family and withheld their opinions out of that fear.

So now.. the BOS..

1.  Don't care about saving people (but still dont want you to needlessly hurt or endanger civilians, and specifically tell you not to engage civilians when on the Vertibirds) but they are rather focused on keeping technology out of the hands of people like the Institute who do things like... Experiment on people with FEV for the heck of it, use new weapons and FEV to wipe out the surface dwellers.  Replace people with synths so they can be better controlled...

2.  Shoot at but not hit NON-feral ghouls who come to close to scare them away...

3.  Kill Feral Ghouls

4.  Kill Super Mutants.

5.  Can be reasoned with(Elder Maxon) to spare synths (Paladin Danse).. there is no reasoning with the institute...

6.  Require aid of the people of the commonwealth to help defeat the institute such as quartering soldiers if need be, and giving up extra supplies for the war effort against the institute.  (Proctor Teagan's quest Feeding the Troops, I just either pay or charm them into helping me get the food, its like the military.  Commander gives you the mission, you have to come up with the best way to accomplish it in accordance with the best interest of the Commander and the Organization, it only goes to prove that not pissing off the locals would be the best choice)

Yes the BOS isn't here to win hearts and minds in FO4 like they were in FO3, they are here to defeat the Institute and the Super Mutants... Super Mutants have been the enemy of the BOS since FO1..

When I started my first play through I decided I would try out the other factions and save the minutemen quest line for last since it would be the endgame that I want to play the DLCs with.

I first started off with the Railroad since they seemed alright and I liked Deacon as a companion and as a result of previous actions the Brotherhood of steel and I didn't really see eye to eye . The aspects of the Railroad that I enjoyed were the whole secrecy/underground themes. The whole process of choosing a code-name and performing missions against the Institute had a really cool secret agent element to it. The rag-tag nature of the Railroad was interesting as well but in the end I just could not take them seriously enough to maintain that save game.

During my second play through I gave the Institute a go since I wanted to get all of that misery taken care of. And that play through certainly delivered in that sense. The Institute was an interesting combination of science, mercenary scum, Skynet, a wanna be Arnold Schwarzenegger, and xenophobia. This organisation was so thorough it even had a department that put the Gestapo to shame. Upon completing this quest line I felt like an utter moron that doomed the people of the wasteland and rightfully so. I just wish that the Institute play through would offer more in terms of manipulating the Commonwealth and performing authoritarian actions. overall it was what I expected it to be. I still hated every single member of that organisation though.

My third play through was with the Brotherhood of Steel. Although the group seems like a bunch of delusional zealots , they had their own way of doing things that I enjoyed participating in. The brotherhood was organised, supported, gave me a bed to sleep on, and had plentiful access to munitions and equipment. It was a fun play through even though I was never able to follow every single aspect of the Brotherhoods ideology. I understood their beliefs but felt that they were rather forceful in comparison to the minutemen. I really appreciated the fact that Bethesda decided to bring the Brotherhood back to their roots. They are now a more stricter interpretation of the West coast chapter of the Brotherhood.

And now I have begun my foray into the darkness of the Minutemen play through. I will spend many hours searching for and helping settlements for my soulless subordinate in order to progress the unclear quest line.

@Limitlessness
Has Preston driving you slightly insane with "another settlement needs your help"

A couple times I caught myself sneaking into sanctuary just to avoid seeing him and having him give me another minute men quest....

I can swallow essentially all the groups except for the Institute...

Cant deny really any words you said about the groups honestly.

BOS are forceful and direct.. they know what they want and are focused on that. They dont view the civilians as not human, they just dont view them as not as important as securing technology... but atleast they dont go out of their wait to assault/ torment them.

The Minutemen are great... they feel like the "Good guys" just horribly under equipped, under trained and under manned... good ideas with what feels like no ability to ever do anything when compared to the Institute or the BOS... with raiders.. I think they will work... but the Gunners scattered them though..

Just wish the Minutemen had more teeth because I really like them.

@SgtSpectre

After reading that rundown I'm glad I went with BOS!

I really like the minutemen also though, and agree their lack of overall presence is off putting. Their concept almost made me think of NCR rangers, just out and about, or living in their respective settlements. Someone shoots a flare or sends word for help, and there's almost always somebody close enough to respond. Which... Isn't what we got.

I like scrappy guerilla factions, but they too far below that, even.

I actually spend time first as an independent force in the wasteland trying to find out who the factions were in the commonwealth. After failing to find my "stealth faction", I realised that I had to join a faction to pursue my quest to finding Shaun.

I wasn't originally planning to go for Power Armour at all but it became quite clear to me to either:

A) Get Power Armour
B) Farm the fuck out of rad X and rad away.

So I opted with joining The Brotherhood, who from a RP perspective looked to me like the only military organisation still intact after The Great War (Ignoring The Enclave if they still exist in F4's Era)

I loved the BoS in FO3 and I really didn't care a rats ass to be a Minuteman being a "people's man".
I have to say that I made a good choice for myself, their ideology was great and so are their rules.
Even though a certain member at the PD kept being an ass to me.

The Quests where great and I was surprised at some of the plot settings.
I kinda expected more of the Railroad when I encountered them but the first quest line with Deacon was great I have to say.

When I arrived at the Institute and met the man in charge. I didn't believe him, he gave me a rather bad vibe and thus I didn't trust him.

I explored pretty much all there was to see in the Institute and remained loyal to the Brotherhood.
Carrying out their orders and not going against their rules.
In one quest I did eventually go against their rules, for I didn't want to believe it and hoped I could find a way to solve the problem in a different way.

I haven't completed all the quests yet for I have been given one that will probably make me go against their code once more. Involving a person who aided me into getting into the institute itself.
I want to talk to the man once more before doing anything and see he truly is.
For me Loyalty is an important thing to uphold, he followed on his end of the bargain and so did I.

So betrayal is not really an option for me. Ignoring the fact I whipped out a faction I joined, who basically where robo-loving hippies.

Maxon is a great leader for his age and I was really startled when he found out on my insubordination. Yet he forgave me and promoted me.

I joined the Minutemen finally and boy is Preston annoying.

It's tempting to start a new playthrough but I want to finish the DLC's with this character.

One thing I really like is that the faction's don't let you become the new leader of said faction, besides kinda the minutemen. Even Though Preston keeps telling me what I should do and does nothing himself.

@SgtSpectre

I have far surpassed insanity due to that persistent radiant quest demon. I like the idea of the Minutemen however they are poorly equipped in comparison to the Brotherhood of Steel. I suppose they make up for this with the use of artillery and their sheer numbers once all settlements are controlled. The brotherhood has air superiority which is the ultimate game changer that can easily shrug off ground superiority. The issue with the Brotherhood is that the fall in line with the "you're either with us or against us" while the Minutemen fit the narrative of unity and combined efforts. I feel that the Minutemen will suffer the same fate of the Desert Rangers by being annexed and integrated within a more powerful faction. The problem with the Brotherhood is their forceful and direct action nature. Diplomacy does not fit their ways and as a result they can easily antagonize the dwellers of a region. This can result in increased tensions between the Commonwealth and the Brotherhood as well as potentially causing a revolt. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Minutemen are still a relatively new faction and have to reestablish themselves. After all, the NCR and Legion started with a small pool of organised individuals. I hope that Bethesda can expand on the Minutemen's potential. Keep in mind that single individual's were able to blow up an oil rig, determine the fate of the Mojave wasteland and restore hopes for clean purified water in the Capital wasteland.

@Limitlessness

Wow, honestly its hard to believe your only 18 years old.

But I really was hoping for the option or atleast a mod to change or upgrade the gear of my Minutemen who were on patrol. Just so they are not always getting slaughtered by molerats and the like....

I can only guess that Bethesda wanted the two major factions to kinda edgy so that there was no easy choice, atleast not as overtly. When you start delving into covert actions of the institute it feels like they are going to be the new Enclave... Perhaps Bethesda wanted a new "Enclave" Since the original was taken down.. or rather they wanted something Enclave like but wasnt the Enclave.. so they made the Institute. The Shadowy Organization terrorizing the wastes kinda. Thats all I can really imagine they wanted other than perhaps players who wanted to still find their son.. and still be the bad guys...

Alot of speculation on my part with that.. but it does feel that according to many I guess Western based norms, that the institute is filling the role of the antagonists.

Brotherhood of steel
Because i really like brotherhood armor and they class like Knight,Palladin, and initiate

I did choose the BoS in my first playthrough, they was cool from Fallout 3. But in Fallout 4, the BoS's idea of destroy other factions seem nazi-like to me. They claimed it was for the future of the Commonwealth, but if I remember right, the only thing that interested them is pre-war tech. And that Maxon tho lol, the worst faction leader ever.
In my second playthrough, I join the Railroad at first, then I realized they has no interest to make to Commonwealth become a better place, all they want is to rescure more and more synths, which sometime will only give the synth chance to become raiders.
About the Institute ? a big NOPE for them everybody has finished the game would know why.
So at the end i sided with the Minutemen, yes, they're a small group, but with the good intend to truly rebuild the Commonwealth, of the people and for the people. They has no problem with other factions, you can complete the game with only the Institute destroy if you side with the Minutemen.

Minutemen. They seem most neutral and with Piper as my companion, it's the only option that works.

I like the Railroad group, but to be honest, as time goes on I see the human looking synths do more bad things than I like. I don't really trust them and they are robots, not people. Do I mind them? Nope. Would I die for them? Nope.

BOS seem cool, but a bit selfish. All you do for them is track technology. They claim to be the solution for the people, yet they don't help them or even do much to help their own companions.

Institute make some valid points, but overall, they're wrong.

Just my own 2 cents.

I guess I'd join one that suits my playthrough at the time, I don't pre select who I'm going with I like to be robust and so any time I choose it's because at that time I want to play a certain way that maybe follows what that particular faction does.

Brotherhood.

I join the brotherhood mainly because all the other factions are either straight up evil or inept.

The minutemen, while optimistic and well wishing. Are a bunch of farmers that want someone to back them up if they get into trouble again.

The railroad are a bunch of spies that aren't very good at their jobs, they painted a big red line directly to the front door of the only main base they have left, and their password is "RAILROAD". All their secrets are easily discovered by the brotherhood, who aren't spies. They're caught off guard on numerous occasions. The only ones with seemingly any clue what they're doing are Deacon, who is a compulsive liar. Tinker Tom, who's insane. And Glory, who isn't exactly a spy in the first place so her skills would be put to better use elsewhere.

The institute might try to say they're doing the right thing but at the end of the day they're still enslaving people, killing them, replacing them with synths, etc. So at the end of the day, at least from a storytelling perspective. The Brotherhood might not be the nicest of the prettiest outcome. But it's the most realistic one.

Personally I went with the Railroad.

The Minutemen seemed just... Boring. A bunch of Farmers toting shotguns at forces that could slap them out of the common-wealth.

The Institute might have actually been a viable choice. But I guess the game did too good a job convincing me that they were a bunch of evil totalitarians. 

The Brotherhood are well... The Brotherhood. A bunch of high-tech Hu-ah Xenophobes. Basically the NCR of the Commonwealth. Acting the hero while snatching up whatever they desire.

And that leaves the Railroad. I didn't enjoy the writing of the Railroad, make no mistake. The only reason I went with them was because they were new. They represented a viewpoint I hadn't seen in a fallout game to date. The Idea of a Fallout version of the Real-life Underground Railroad was too good to pass up.

I went with the railroad, I would have gone with the minutemen but the lack of control over them made it doesnt like you were leading them.

I chose the brother hood of steel because they were my favorite faction since fallout 3 but if I had to pick another faction I would have to choose the minutemen because they fight for the good of the people I would never choose synths though.

I choose the brotherhood of steel because :

1. In all Fallout games they are one of my favorite faction and that's why in first game I join them

2. They have the firepower to destroy the institute with the use of Liberty Prime. Furthermore they are pretty cool with their power armors and are well equiped with energy weapons.

3. The institute has certainly built a high-technology complex in the face of the Boston's people and has a few models of advanced synthetics but most are simple combat robots and aren't match for the BOS paladins.

4. The minutemens are very nice but they are simple settlers armed with dilapidated rifles compared to other factions. Normally they would have no chance of winning the final battle.

5. The Railroad fight for good ideals but they aren't enough numerous and for me they look like tramp.

I ended up joining the Brotherhood. There's a lot of reasons why, but the main ones are the fact that:

1. They have the most advanced weaponry and capability of securing the wasteland and keeping the commonwealth and all of its inhabitants safe. I know many people think the Brotherhood are just there to occupy the wasteland and be some dominating military force, but I don't believe that's the case at all. Maxson himself says that they are only to use force as a last resort when dealing with commonwealth citizens.

2. To me, the other factions just do not have what it takes to do anything useful in the wasteland. The minutemen are a great group of people who have a good purpose, but they are just too small and spread out, at least as of now, in order to do anything very productive other than keeping a few settlements protected in the outskirts of the city and surrounding ruins. The Railroad...well i'm sorry but i find them to be a bunch of tinfoil hatters. They have a good purpose and i think saving some synths is a decent thing to do, but it's a bit of a lost cause that is overall too dangerous to be prosperous in my eyes. Plus they are way too paranoid. Then we have the institute. They want to turn the entire human population into synths. I'm sorry, but even though the sole survivor is technically put in charge of the institute after and could easily change what the institute does with its time, i never trusted them. I'm like full Will Smith in I-Robot when it comes to trusting robots and their creators.

Those are just my thoughts on the other factions and why i choose to go with the Brotherhood. I don't agree with all of their methods but i feel as though they're the best hope the East Coast has for long term survival and rebuilding.