I really like the dystopian world possibility of Ember energy bring siphoned industrially replacing all major landscapes with junk yards and vehicles.

I was thinking more like a "world in transition" environment, similar to the beginning of Earth's Industrial Revolution.  The key difference being that this Revolution is powered by Ember and Clockwork, rather than coal and oil.

All this led by that same ancient Estherian cult that tortured the region of Grunnheim with lethal experiments making many creatures and tribes extinct or distorted due to terraforming everything in the most extreme environmental overhaul mod of all time!

Yeah, no.  My idea was more along the lines of current Empire technology…times 100. 

Essentially, this would be an "alternate present" scenario, in which the Alchemists, Embermages, and Imperial Engineers kicked off an "Ember Revolution" in the intervening years between the Dark Alchemist defeating Ordrak in TL1, and his return for the Heart of Ordrak in TL2. 

Note that this would also explain how the Alchemist managed to develop such a high-tech mechsuit.  It could have been an industrial prototype, that was later adapted by the Dark Alchemist for his own purposes.  (Lore-wise, the Alchemist's armor is designed to stabilize his Ember energy, or something like that.)