Mod conflict maybe? I remember that happened to me when I hadn't updated Deadly Dragons.

At Dawnstar they just fly right out of town and land there, and you have to chase them like an idiot all the way... if you want the soul that is,

I lure them away from the towns, and then remember that I have the Deadly Dragons mod, and they eat me.

i ended up going inside a house and out again, it worked, the dragons model just went limp in the air and fell to the ground. Aquired soul and lewt.

in my experience, the college of winterhold is the worst place to fight a dragon. you first fast travel onto the bridge, then the dragon circles until you enter the college circle. it then just perches on the surrounding ring and shoots stuff at you all day. when i used dragonrend it just landed on top of the college every time, out of sight.

What patch of skyrim are you running, man? Last time I killed an airborne dragon (last night) is crashed into a mountain.

always newest version

Mod conflict maybe? I remember that happened to me when I hadn't updated Deadly Dragons.

When you use Dragonrend / wound or kill it midair, the dragon will seek the nearest possible LZ and land there, although there are a few places where they just can't land. I had one case like that in the mountains near Dagon's shrine, i killed the mofo with a bow and he just kept flying until i reloaded the area and the corpse appeared on the ground.

On second note is way more enjoyable shooting it with arrows/spells than just 1 shotting it when it lands imo.

Dawnstar, unable to land anywhere x)

At Dawnstar they just fly right out of town and land there, and you have to chase them like an idiot all the way... if you want the soul that is,

I lure them away from the towns, and then remember that I have the Deadly Dragons mod, and they eat me.

i ended up going inside a house and out again, it worked, the dragons model just went limp in the air and fell to the ground. Aquired soul and lewt.

Where do you get dragonrend again? Or does it vary?

u get it along the campaign. i cant remember exactly where or when, but i know u need it to defeat alduin

You learn it by looking into the Elder Scroll at the top of the Throat of the World.

sounds right. havent played it in a while so couldn't remember