In the quest, Retaking Thirsk, you need to help a group of Nords kill all the Rieklings in the Thirsk Mead Hall.
While in the quest, The Chief of Thirsk Hall, you need to help the Rieklings in the Thirsk Mead Hall kill all of the aforementioned Nords. This means that I will have to choose a side.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of siding with either the Nords or the Rieklings in these quests?
The UESP wiki states that (from the Retaking Thirsk article):
This quest has no rewards except making a blacksmith and a Heavy Armor trainer available[verification needed— see talk page], while the other allows you to recruit Riekling followers.
It has been marked as 'verification needed', so I am asking here to verify if that is correct, and if there are other advantages and disadvantages not yet mentioned.
Best Answer
Completing this quest in favor of the Nords will provide you with the availability of four more favor quests, each offering a leveled amount of gold as reward. After completion of Retaking Thirsk, Kuvar will offer Heavy Armor training and Blacksmith services.
Completion in favor of the Rieklings gives no monetary or item rewards. After completion you will be able to have a Riekling as a pet. They take up a pet slot, but you can access their inventory and have a normal follower. In addition, the game has a chance to randomly spawn up to three Rieklings to assist you while in combat. Reportedly anywhere in Skyrim or Solstheim.