I doubt it would be more linear - but, again, you kind of jsut want the series to be Elder Scrolls with a different art style and better boss fights.

YES!

For the reasons you listed in the OP about them being a good studio for such franchise handling, and because I want a Zelda game that is different in style and scope from Ocarina - which all 3D Zeldas have been, and since I can't like Ocarina I don't like any of the others. Maybe Retro would return to Zelda I and LttP's more action-oriented, fewer puzzles style, but even if they didn't it would be some new take that I would have a chance of liking.

And I've found Koji Kondo's weakest work (for me) is in Zelda games, so I would like to see what "Retro's" composer (Kenji Yamamoto) could do.

That's my dream personal Zelda yes but honestly I wouldn't like to change a beloved classic series radically like that. Nostalgia, legacy and consistency is important.

Metroid Prime and Zelda are completely different.  Maybe not to you, but to me they're different enough for me to be cautiously skeptical if a Zelda game gets announced by Retro. Sorry that my opinion bothers you so much, Rol. =P

no please I don't trust anyone but Miyamoto!

no please I don't trust anyone but Miyamoto!

What I expect from Retro:

Link as a lone, silent warrior.

Link, in the original Legend of Zelda, was a journeyman or wayfarer. What little we know of him, we learned from his actions; he was willing to help an old lady, and take on her quest to rescue a princess and defeat an evil tyrant. He was skilled with the sword, but carried no weapon. Link had a history, but his character was an enigma.

One of the most typical idiosyncrasies of modern western developers their tenacity towards either  1) a more of comprehensive form of role playing, or 2) the idea of the player avatar as a vessel for/extension of the player. The series lends itself more towards the latter clause, and thus we may see a Link more akin to that of the original, or perhaps, Majora's Mask.

An intricate world that projects a sense of history and intimacy onto the player/avatar.

Metroid Prime told its tale through a combination aesthetics, level design and various progressive techniques. A sense of melancholy dread, coupled with respect for the iconic scenery and allusions to the past (both in context of the game's narrative, and the perspective of the franchise) was introduced during the landing sequence, and never left.

The same, or similar, techniques could, of course, be applied to Zelda. One of my absolute favorite aspects of Phantom Hourglass was the move in that direction - integrating gameplay mechanics as well - with the Ocean King's temple.

I would also love to see a Zelda with a rich sense of wildlife and fauna. Retro did that well with the Prime series.

A plot structure that, to some extent, eschews the series traditional tropes and pitfalls.

Unlike Khuutra I do not expect Retro to touch the Zelda main cannon. They have yet to use a traditional villain as the main villain, and I would not expect them to stop now. Instead, I would look forward to a take on the Zelda mythos that is perhaps less structured than recent titles. If the series is to return to its roots, as I believe would be likely, it would likely eschew many of the progressive sections of the game in favor of more emergence and exploration.

Combat I do not expect Retro to change too much - perhaps it will be more action oriented, as some claim, though this was not the case in the Prime series.

I wanna see Retro working on a new IP for Nintendo. But that wouldn't be really retro, right?

I would like to see them try a Zelda reboot of sorts, similar to Other M in a back-to-basics play-style, but more importantly reflecting the rather Metroid-esque nature of the NES Zeldas, where you had no idea where you were going often enough, and things could kick your ass fast if you weren't paying attention (or if you were)