I've never been so happy to see an Imperial Guard

Normally I am annoyed at the presence of Imperial Guards on the roads. They strike me as pompous at best and useless at worst. I've played through the game twice before and never had many positive interactions with them.

Today I was on my way to Kvatch and came upon a troll. He began bashing me to pieces and while I got some good licks in, it definitely felt like I was going to lose. I had health potions, but I was saving them for the Kvatch mission. I began to wonder when was the last time I'd saved. (As you know, on the roads autosave doesn't happen much.)

Suddenly out of nowhere an Imperial Guard appears and begins slaughtering the troll. The thing lets out a wail and collapses, dead. I talked to him, hoping there was some way to thank him. (Of course there wasn't. There should be.)

Then he just got back on his horse and rode off. Huzzah for the guards!