[quote=Drakel]
I doubt they would be afraid of Alduin at all... They were REALLY strong in the art of technology and they were getting close to surpassing even the Deadra gods (which surpasses their tribunal). I'm rather shocked that the Dunmer were able to even stand five second's worth of a fight against the Dwemer. I like the dimension theory but I don't believe that they did it. I think they practically said "Fuck the nine, Fuck the gods, fuck the tribunal and fuck you Azura" and Azura got sick of their shit and wiped them all out. either killing them and trapping their souls in another dimension until necromancers came to revive them.
[/quote]

Did you forget that Alduin was the Eater of Worlds and that Dwemer were Tamriel's equivalent of Dwarves? It might have taken some time, but Alduin could have easily destroyed the world if the Dwemer were still around, sending their automatons at it and also blocking the path for the Dovahkin. As we've seen in the games the Automatons attack without discretion, and I severely doubt the Dwemer would program them to not kill the previously faceless Dragonborn when approached. It's basically a 'stall the only thing that can kill it while trying to kill it' situation.