This is something that's bugged me for years....

Pretty much every time I start a new character, these days, I tell myself "This time I AM going to level up my magic skills and rely on destruction magic rather than weapons".

And then, by the time I'm 10 hours in, Serana is blasting Trolls to death with a single ice-spike while it takes me all my time to injure a Skeever with mine.

I've tried really hard to stick with it on my most recent play-through and I'm currently at level 60-something in Destruction magic and I'm kitted out in mage-optimised armour and accessories but I still notice that Serana can kill a troll with a single ice-spike whereas mine only reduce it's health by around 10%.

By the same token, I'm currently at around level 45 (overall) and my health's around 350 and I've been killed by a single firebolt from an Ascendant Mage whereas my own firebolts barely singe their targets, even stuff like wolves.

So, is it possible to become a properly fearsome battle-mage in Skyrim?

Can a player grow their Destruction magic to be comparable with an NPC like Serana?