To each their own I guess. I thought it looked great near launch (I bought it in early 2000s for Xbox), and I think it still holds up. Most of the "jank" in the graphics could also be explained by the relatively "alien" feel of the environment. Human characters look terrible, but the world and the other races still look pretty decent imo.

It fails at being a realistic game (Halo: CE did that much better), but it works if you consider it as the fantasy world it is. I think Skyrim is worse for wear because it went for more realism, and while it looked fantastic at the time, it just doesn't compare favourably to modern games.

I can totally accept having rose-colored glasses though. But again, what I like most about it isn't the graphics, but the side quests and general immersiveness of the world. The graphics are certainly dated, but I feel like they don't get in the way most of the time.