As the title says, advice and suggestions on the whole shabang
Would also like to wield a blade though..
Cheers

The default Spellsword class is actually a very good build. If you're not planning on using armor, you could make a similar custom class and swap out that skill for something else, but having a "never-use-it major" is one effective way to limit over-leveling.

Combine the above with a magic-boosting birthsign like the Mage, and you have a winner.

Thanks !!

Usually I'd recommend picking a build and posting it for comment. But I'll provide some other advice...

Breton/Mage is very solid. Altmer/Mage works well too, you just have a little elemental weakness. Altmer/Atronach is very powerful for experienced players if you lean how to deal with a lack of magicka regen, and use alchemy.

If you want to use a blade, then of course I recommend Blade as a major skill.

I recommend Destruction and Restoration as majors since they level slowly. Since I don't like to put all three skills of an attribute as a major I would then put Alteration as a minor.

I'd probably pick Armor as a major so as to be able to repair enchanted weapons sooner. Alternatively I might pick Block.

Then one skill from Intelligence. Alchemy levels fast so I'd put that as a minor. Conjuration is fun, but also levels fast, so I'd maybe pick Mysticism - which is useful but you can control how fast it levels.

Illusion makes a good major. It's controllable and very useful.

Then the last skill might be a speed skill. Light armor increases very rapidly. So maybe either Acrobatics or Athletics. Acrobatics is more controllable. Still I'm not sure a mage would use either Acrobatics or Athletics. So a very good alternative would be Marksmanship -- again not a magey type of skill but it can be very fun and levels very slowly. So you might consider marksmanship a "hobby" for the mage.

But those are just some thoughts for what it's worth.

Well, first of all pick Breton for the 50% magicka resistance. Wouldn't it svck to be brought down by the very power you exploit? But your strength will suffer for it. This can be remedied by enchanting your apparel with fortify strength. You will need speed to move around ( You're not going heavy armor are you? That's too much spreading your skills out thinly ).

Really, you're going to have to specialize and having melee AND magicka is really pushing it for a game that has its world level with you so unmercifully that it could easily overpower you until you catch up in later levels.

You might want to consider nGCD so that you can level your character skills and attributes based on what you do.

nGCD:
http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=14065

Fundament ( needed just for nGCD ):
http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=41005

OBSE ( also needed for nGCD ):
http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=37952

Alteration would be useful for the shield spell. But that is only if you intend to use melee a lot. But why would you do this when magicka spells bypass armor completely? ( Summoned weapons don't bypass armor, though. They are just summoned weapons that can hit normal and supernatural creatures ). Magicka is hindered only by resists, but you can counter with weakness to magicka.

Conjuration is really good because it will give you a summon to distract your scumbag enemy if they see it first. You can then pelt them with spells. Later you will get really good summons like the gloom wraith that can't be hurt by normal weapons. Some of the summons are not as good as they should be because they don't use weapons. Xivilai, is what I'm talking about.

Illusion is also very good on its own, but used alongside Conjuration it is killer. Unfortunately, Illusion is governed by personality. I can understand why they had to do this for balance, but still it is a valid complaint. Personality is, imo, a useless attribute when you are a mage who can charm them or temporarily fortify your personality to 100 with a Restoration spell.

Destruction is for someone who simply wants to rain damage all over their scumbag foes. Very to-the-point and no nonsense.

You can see that you have many choices, but the more you make yourself a jack of all trades the more your character suffers.

...Or, you could overthink the whole thing and ruin all your fun...

What I offer here is found in the owners manual that comes with the disk I've just added my own spin.

The easiest Mage to roll is a Breton standard class Mage with the sign of the Mage. The importance of the standard class is that you start with apprentice level skills needed to do what follows.

Use Alchemy only to make the poisons and potions you'll need for defending yourself. Don't try to make money by making and selling potions. you'll level up too fast. You'll need Shield potions and Shield spells in place of armor. The Breton 'Dragon Skin' spell should be the goto spell at the start of a dangerous fight (Shield 50% for 30 seconds.) Shield spells and potions add together and can be more effective than armor because they do not deteriorate during combat. They just time out and can be renewed.

You'll need Conjuration to call up a defender; mages are not known for melee combat although Angel can hold her own in a fight. You'll need a dagger to deliver your poisons and to block since you will not carry a shield. You can also block with a staff. A silver dagger will also be effective against the undead. Poisons are not effective against the undead but fire gives extra damage against them.

Once your Alchemy reaches the 100% skill level, you can make oceans of potions and it won't effect your level. That typically happens somewhere between lvl 15 and lvl 25 but could happen as early as level 8 (if you over-frolic Alchemy). At that point you should be able to amass a large fortune through the profession of Alchemist.

A few words about leveling. This setup will not hit an artificial limit, and will eventually reach the maximum level (around lvl 52.) Some creatures level up at the same rate as your character does. If reasonable activities and cautions are exercised, this character will not be under-powered or over-powered. That means generally you will have a serious fight on your hands but not more than you can handle. With high Alchemy, you can always take one of your home-made invisibility potions and simply slip away.

You can and should purchase skill training in some of the non-mage skills. In particular, Armorer skill needs to be at a skill level of 50% to repair an enchanted weapon (yes, staffs can get damaged in various ways.) Other skills can easily be practiced. Sneak, for instance, improves your agility which prevents staggering when being hit. Running and swimming improves your speed, etc.

Perhaps the most important thing is to listen to your character. They will tell you when they think they are in over their head. They will tell you when they like an idea and when they don't. They will tell you if it's time to cut bait and run. Listening to them will let them be more than a crash-dummy that you steer around for 'points'.

There is just way too many good mage builds. Need to know more about what you are wanting to do here. Are you playing vanilla or modded? If vanilla, are you planing on "efficient" leveling or just playing. Do you want to create an uberpowerful mage or do you want a character that is not overpowered? Mages in Oblivion are awesome because there is so much you can do with them.

Here is my latest mage build for a general mage that uses bound weapons:

Blade
Destruction
Mysticism
Illusion
Acrobatics
Mercantile
Marksman

This build should give you good attribute bonuses to Willpower and Intelligence upon level up, provided you use your alchemy, conjuration and alteration spells on a regular basis. Those three skills level really fast so its no problem taking them as minor skills.

I prefer high elves for their extra magicka (combined with either Atronach or Apprentice birthsign) over a Breton. Maximize magicka and work on countering your weaknesses is my motto. But yeah, Breton is a good choice too. Probably easier to play overall because of the 50% magic resistance.

Combined with a certain ring it′s almost game breaking.