Partially inspired by http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1223750-so-are-builds-out-the-window/ topic - given that classes are now a thing of the past, pretty much every character starts out the same - the only difference being racial traits and aesthetics. Even birthsigns have been replaced by guardian stones, which aren't picked at the start and can be changed.

This means that players aiming for a specific build we need to put extra effort into the skills that comprise it. Given this, I'm wondering, knowing what we know, if certain builds are, well, worth it. Let me explain.

Traditionally in TES games I've started with an Imperial Rogue, going back to Morrowind and continued into Oblivion. But is time spent on Rogue skills better spent elsewhere?

After I've gotten to grips with the base game and found all the nooks and crannies I start a new game as an Altmer Warmage (all the magics + heavy armour - makes the squishy wizard less squishy). But from what we've seen, magic looks incredibly powerful and simple to use (I've heard comparisons to Bioshock plasmids - compare that to Morrowind's magic) in Skyrim and Shouts, from an RP perspective, seem like they belong more with a magic user than a rogue archetype.

So, what do you think? Are my perceptions about magic accurate?