I sometimes think that the Independent ending is the true canon, because it follows certain aspects that are to me, recurrent in the Fallout series. Allow me to explain.

In near-every Fallout game, you are an individual, you are not aligned with anybody but yourself, and in the end you alone are the person who saved the land, earning reverence and legendary status from all who witnessed.

• Fallout 1: The Vault Dweller defeated the master and his army, saving the Wasteland and being an iconic figure to the NCR. Who built a statue of him. He founded Arroyo, then left to the town of Carbon, where he protected the town from raiders (Known as the Wasteland Stranger).

• Fallout 2: The Chosen One destroyed the Enclave at Navarro, saved his people in Arroyo and reunited them with the Vault 13 dwellers. His actions of course still resonate to this day, as individuals such as Marcus and Cannibal Johnson remember those actions well. Also it should be noted that Mr. Bishop is his bastard child, who is also another big player in the wasteland.

• Fallout 3: The Lone Wanderer finished the Enclave and brought water to the Capital Wasteland. Becoming a figure of legend within the region.

So with this in mind, the Independent ending fits this bill as the Courier will become the person who freed New Vegas, taking his place in history as yet another important and powerful figure, like the ones before them.

Also in Lonesome Road, Ulysses mocks you for allying with either of the three factions, although he never mentions independence, he only talks about House. And he learned at the Divide that one man can make or break a nation, and I believe that the courier by canon makes a nation.