Oddly enough, BECAUSE it wastes perks, i found myself a lot more balanced-feeling when i used necromancy(adept difficulty). I was still god-mode by the end, but i had a great deal of fun in the middle.

Conjuration magic is nerfed big time.I have yet to see a spell that doesn't require a dead body to use

Can you deck a follower out in powerful gear, make sure they have it equipped, then kill them and thrall them?

Necromancy is not useless, it is perfectly viable, pre master level. It might not be as easy-mode as conjuring atronachs, but necromancy works and does its job.
The key to necromancy (pre-100) is to keep a pace of killing so you always have fresh materials for new toys.

Twin Souls and Zombie Thralls.

There, master necromancer.

Yeah, both at level 100. What about before then?