I'm thinking about playing a mage of some sort. Battlemages are appealing for their survivability, but I know that the armor impedes spell efficiency so a more traditional mage might be better. Some advice from people who have played them would be greatly appreciated.
Also, as far as the Atronoch birthsign and spell absorbtion- Is there a way to keep it from absorbing self cast spells like healing or protection? It seems like a bad birthsign to take...

Thanks.