I plan on being a thief in my next playthrough. I have some trouble fighting dragons with just my barbaric warrior. How the hell do thieving archers kill dragons? That sounds impossible (assuming you are alone, no one is helping you)

Currently playing a straight sneak/archer here with no companions.

I don't have a lot of difficulty, the fights just aren't fast. Keep near cover when the dragon breaths, then pop out and feather the bastard before they take off. Hitting them in the air at range is a bit of a pain and usually not worth blowing an arrow on. Oh, and poisons are your friend.

I play a darkelf thief style character on master difficulty.
Light armor, archery, sneak. No spells. No companions.
Dual swords as backup because the dagger combat wasnt my taste. Although I rarely use them anymore. Archery is at 85 now, onehanded and lightarmor both at about 40-50 because I rarely get engaged in closerange anymore.
The early game and the first dragons were a challenge though. Lots of potions. The fire ones were doable solo due to the darkelf resistance.
The frost ones...not so much. I simply didnt fight them unless they attacked a town in which case I wasnt alone.
After a certain level they were doable too. I equip some frost-resistance gear I set aside especially for this, pack a few resistance potions, climb that mountain and get myself a new shout no problem.

My first character was a 2handed nord warrior type on normal difficulty who could solo any dragon at about lvl 15 with no problems at all. I quit that character a few lvls later. Too OP

Ok anyway. Pure archer+sneak is a bit rough in the beginning. The x3 sneak attack dmg and the 50% bow stagger perk makes it all go a lot smother then.

No probs here... as a dunmer i have that neat fire resistance, i mainly focus on 1h / archery, so when he s on the ground i dual wield him and when he takes of i zoom in, which slows everyhting down and makes it super easy to hit him, and snipe him till he lands again...

It's fine; I would even go as far as saying that archery is better than melee at lower levels (you don't have to get close and risk getting mauled). It's all about constantly moving and firing. It might take a while, but it's fairly manageable.

I started a wood-elf build with an emphasis on one-handed weapons, archery, blocking, light armor, and sneaking. My thief/fighter is strong enough to tank a dragon with his sword and shield BUT I am sure to have a fire/frost resistant necklace or ring, a good quality sword (with a good damage enhancement), and some potions of health.

Now, in normal combat my character is actually very lethal with the damage multiplying sneak perks. One back-stab with my enhanced Elven dagger and even giants go down in one hit. A good modified bow with some decent arrows and potions (combined with a 3x sneak attack) and even the bosses are nearly dead before I draw my sword.

I decided to skip out of the lock picking and pick pocketing perks however. Smithing, enchanting, and alchemy provide significant buffs that, to me, were better then the other thief perks. Without my improved Elven armor, dagger, and heath potions I'm sure it would be a lot harder going.

Oh, make sure you re-map your power/shout key to your mouse. Weaken with a arrow sneak attack (maybe with a poison), run out breathing fire, and swing hard!!!! It's a fun class to play. Tank characters are fun, but it can get boring after a while. Being a thief makes one think on their feet.

Currently got an Archer Character. Focused on Sneak, Archery and Alchemy Mainly. Dragons are providing no difficulty at all as I'm always well stocked on potions and poisons. If it's a group of enemies I try hitting one with a Frenzy poison that generally helps. one on one fights = paralysis or slow followed by some poisons.

You should find that an archer class works pretty simply

Been avoiding dragons for the most part. Can't really sneak up and backstab one... If I do fight one I shout "Marked for Death' at it, then do my best with a Nord Great Sword I keep handy for special occassions.