So, decided to make a Conjurer character, with the fairly typical Bound Bow usage. However, in order to level up that Conjuration, I decided to grab another Bound Weapon, so I didn't have to just sit back and let my Flame Atronach do all the work. I went with the Bound Greataxe, simply because it felt better to not have my spare hand holding some dirty material shield...

However, I found that I quite like having the Greataxe as a supplementary weapon. It works well in tight quarters and lets me block. While the Bow is the builds main draw (heh) it's a nice addition to the playstyle. But the question is, how does the Greataxe fair against material weapons? According to the wiki, it's actually pretty weak, barely eclipsing the Steel Greataxe (untempered) even with Mystic Binding. However, the wiki also doesn't make the high draw speed of the Bound Bow clear, so perhaps there's something else that's not being mentioned here.

While I'm not invested into Smithing (I might do so, much later on), I am reasonably invested into Enchantment (how could I not be, with Soul Stealer ) so I'm guessing it might be best to just find the best Greatweapon I can, give it whatever temper I can manage, and enchant it with a max-power, minimum-charge Enchantment, and call that good. Max-power enchantment because it is a backup weapon, and I'm overflowing with spare soul-gems, so efficiency is not terribly relevant.

Is that correct, or does the Bound Battleaxe (and other bound melee weapons, while we're on the subject, I guess) have something that makes them as enduring in use as the Bound Bow?

P.S. I can't find anything saying whether or not Thralls are better than Atronachs. I'm not sure if I want to bother spending the points in the perks and Magicka to merely have permanent versions of the base entities. If they're actually stronger though, that would be more tempting.

Welp, I've noticed one big unlisted bonus of the Bound Greataxe. Compared to an Elven Greataxe, it swings notably faster. I can't be sure, but it might be the same 30% speed that the bow benefits from. It also, more importantly, took a lot less Stamina to Power Attack. 30 for the Bound Greataxe, and 66 for the Elven Greataxe. I have the Stamina Reduction feat for Two-Handers, if that matters. I'm sure someone has the numbers, but it seems like this might keep the Bound Greataxe an attractive choice for much longer.

I'm pretty sure with mystic binding it is as strong as a glass battleaxe. So it doesn't do as much damage as a weapon that's improved by smithing but as you said it does have other advantages.