How to force a dragon to engage in combat

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim

Many times in the game i've found myself looking at a flying dragon kind of trolling me.
Sometimes the dragon just keeps flying around in circles or ovals without landing or even atacking me. I've tried to walk around to nearby locations and to the points where he stops for a while, but it usually does not work and I ignore him and keep walking until we both get far enough for him to disappear.

Why does this happen? Is it a terrain issue? I mean, since the game is enormous, they probably couldn't find a way to make dragons fight in every place, so you kind of have to reach a "fight area" so that a dragon will atack you and engage in combat. Is this it?

Is there any way i can force them to atack me other than using "Dragonrend" which is too late-game for most of my characters?

Best Answer

If you are near a village, farm, etc. go to it. If you are quick enough then the dragon will most likely attack the village instead of flying in an annoying circlular loop. You could also try to get it's attention by shooting it with a arrow... To the knee xD