What attracts you to Late Rome?

[Timianus]

But in reality, I don't think there was any hope for the west. The Romans were unable to create an effective model of government, and without a law passed for succession rights (although there was an implied gavelkind succession) the empire would have still fallen. . . . .

Without stability and some way to motivate new recruits, along with a reformed economic system (rome was horribly oppressive and somewhat socialist) collapse was inevitable.

Agree, but "passing a law" wouldn't have done anything. None of the imperators had any legitimacy under the roman constitution. The imperators achieved legitimacy through force. While there was an illusion of republicanism in the early imperial period, Septimus Severus basically laid bare the whole charade. True, having a large army at first was not sufficient, but as rome became less important and power shifted to the frontier, senatorial "consent" became meaningless. By the time of Diocletian, you had a pure autocratic system of government. Might made right.

Also, one aspect in this that is often overlooked is people's willingness to participate in the system. In the end, what benefit did the roman generalissimos confer on people that the barbarian chieftains did not? A government based on confiscatory taxes, conscripted soldiers and mercenaries that harass the populace will not last very long.