Has the game always been like this? (DFU)

[SeaGtGruff]

I've never played Daggerfall, so I don't know, but the later games have a difficulty setting, so you might check to see if there is anything like that.

I do know that in Arena, new characters will always face the same numbers and types of low-level enemies at the start-- that is, in the Imperial Dungeons (goblins and rats)-- although if you sleep in an unprotected location then you can be attacked by all manner of random enemies (rogues, trolls, mages, etc.).

However, your title says "(DFU)." Are you asking about the original Daggerfall game, or about Daggerfall Unity?

[Jormungandr]

Yeah that's definitely abnormal for vanilla Daggerfall.