Is anybody playing OB with the Difficulty slider well off to the right? I can't get it much beyond the middle (maybe 10% beyond the 50/50 mark) before the foes start hitting so hard that I can't survive.

I know my leveling scheme has been poor. I generally get all 2's and maybe a single 3 when those who know how to level get 3 5's. That has put me at lvl 28 well behind the power curve and unlike Skyrim, which I play(ed) at Master or even Legendary, I'm at maybe the equivalent of adept in OB.

Not a biggie and after all, crummy levelers like me are probably why the slider is there, but still, it's a bit annoying that I can't get those 5's.

The reason you're experiencing this is because that's all the slider does. It increases the damage you receive from each enemy "hit" while reducing the damage you can deal to the enemy.

In the center position, damage dealt is equal. With the slider all the way to the left, your attack is 6x normal, while receiving 1/6th damage from the enemy. At the full right position, the situation is reversed; your attack is 1/6th normal, and you take 6x damage.

No. Never touch the difficulty slider. Don't do it in Skyrim either. AI isn't smarter, game play is not better. All those sliders do is make a PC a one hit wonder and the enemies damage sponges.

Also, didn't do the "must have +5" thing. Nice to have but not necessary. My guess is you leveled up things that aren't combat oriented skills perhaps? That will definitely leave you getting mopped up by the enemy pretty quickly. Try playing more naturally maybe. While the world does level up with you in this game, it's important you keep your blade/blunt/bow on par with that. Also watch your equipment for degradation so you aren't trying to fight with poor equipment.