You really can't compare FO3 and NV because they have completely different themes.
FO3 had a much more eerie/macrabe overtone to it, so it was created to be like that.
NV was more "Paradise Apocalypse" then anything else, especially with the Wild Wasteland addition and the just overall kookie tone with characters like Yes Man.
SteelChair
Everyone says 3 was better than NV, but look at 3 overall in missions and NV. NV wasn't even made by Bethesda, they just wrote the story and everything was left to Obsidian from there.
Even though the game has a hell of a ton of glitches, it still has WAY more missions then 3. Not saying 3 was bad though, I loved both.
AzureDragoonGX
thats true because the companions were seperate from the main missions unlike 3. I mean like Fawkes was found automatically during the end of the game.