They're really hit and miss for me but when they're on they're pretty excellent.

Have you beaten it yet? If so, whom did you side with? I've hit a wall where I finished all the side quests + all the faction quests, up to the point where somebody has to start hating you.

I went with the Minutemen, and an INT character with non-auto rifles for my first playthrough. A shotgun can be really nasty.

I didn't branch outward from Minutemen except to sniff around and say no.

... you can't stay on the good side of the Institute if you go with the Minutemen, right? Minutemen is my main faction, but after SPOILERS happened, I just don't feel right destroying the Institute.

I enjoyed the /plot twist/, but once the Institute reveals their plans for you following the mission at Bunker Hill, it makes all the subsequent quest decisions seem forced and illogical. If the Institute tells me I can be SPOILERS, and I'm *already* supreme commander of the Minutemen AND a trusted friend of the Railroad, then why in the name of Dogmeat can't I just resolve things diplomatically, right now?!

And even if I HAD to fight a civil war for control of the Institute, blowing the whole damn thing up seems pointless and insane, especially considering that many of the Institute scientists are already on my side, and I could easily eliminate the rest with nothing but my Gauss rifle and a Power Fist.

I believe that in order to end the main storyline, you have to pick one of four factions and end it their way.
Each faction has its own issues with the others. Some more, some less.

Shouldn't you be sexting, young man?

I'll have you know, sir, that all my sexting is accomplished through genuine Big Johnson t-shirts.