I got attacked by three thugs in Riverwood after the first dragon encounter outside of Whiterun,
used the illusion spell Fury while in town on all of them and the townsfolk started attacking them and killed them for me.

They did kill the Riverwood dog though.

Since the devs in their unlimited wisdom decided to throw out Spellmaking and, just and only because of this, introduced the complete "Dual Wielding" of Spells and Meleeweapons, playing 1h + Spell at one time or 1h + nothing is useless.

The game is balanced around having you either both hands on casting, both hands swinging a weapon (2x 1h or 1x 2h) or using a shield in combination.

Nothing else really works on higher than adept, or if you level the wrong skills/perks.

Get used to it. Sadly.

yep every once in a while I'll be hacking it out and get one shoted. Or as soon as I pull my healing spells out and actually start to heal I get my head cut off... or eaten as the Ancient dragons always always do that to me. It's funny because I'll be hiding in a building or behind a rock and they still get me with it like its not even there between us lol. Really pisses me off.

3 "hired thugs" come down the road from Helgen to Riverwood, got my backside kicked a couple of times.In the end I lowered there health with some arrows from a rock on the opposite side of the the river then finished with some 2h axework. I have no idea what initiates their appearance.

I have only dual-wielded since I started playing and the 1st few lvl's were like that that dying in a couple hits you just have to get your potions and hide like a [censored] sometimes...even now with 300 health a random mage will 2 shot me with what looks like a fireball

this bugged be for a while 2 but if you actually back up a bit from the object your hiding behind they do not attack you through it..worked for me anyways they only attacked through objects when I was humpin the rock or tree

Ha I really get it OP.
A couple of things have changed and a few have stayed the same.

Stuff that is the same. You know all this I guess.
You cant do it alone!
At the start of every character spending a wee bit of gold on summoned allies is a great way to even the odds. Those sum of beeches have backup why shouldnt you. The wolf is great to build up your stats and the flame attronach is really effective as a fighting buddy. Also break up the group, run like hell and return to sneak kill those nasties.
When you are weak sneaking, magic, sniping ranged attacks are very effective. When you get a bit higher blocking and shield bashing combined with blades is good. You can practice blocking on crabs, also up your armor by letting them have at you and running and healing in between will build, armor, blocking, restoration and if you use the stone skin your alteration will go up to boot.
Big enemies have an area, run to the edge of it and let them have it!
Use rocks, you can jump.
In Skyrim nothing spawns behind you so clear the way instead of sneaking past to give you a retreat when it is needed.
When you backstab, just before you backstab, save.

Stuff that has changed.
Running away is awful. You have to pull the camera around like it weights 1000 tons and your retreat will be slow. Camera rock that is probably supposed to add to the drama is awkward. To run is less easy but still worth it.
Combat is strange. Instead of doing less damage with a strike you will actually miss your target with a messy spastic move. Charging and using a power attack will mean you miss and swipe air while your enemy smacks the hell out of you from behind. You don't miss a bit either, it is usually by a country mile!
Running from a dragon even if you are in time will result in you getting the scripted animation chew session, and the spit out/ ragdoll bye bye. You will have to anticipate a lot more.
No walking backwards and swiping at a tough enemy to build your stats. Back walk has slowed to a snail pace.
Jumping on rocks and swiping at a tough enemy to build your stats wont work because the beast will hide so you cant spam it.
Running on level ground from saber tooths wont work, they will get you with their lunges.
Jumping through Skyrim to gain the incredible Spanish jumping flea ability wont work, it isnt there, Instead there are increases in skills that will make you less oafish, I think.
Luring enemies through closed doors and into the open where they are easier to fight wont work as they wont follow you unless you dont want it.
Outlandishly tough enemies with enormous HP and incredible 'damage to you' stats have been chucked into the mix. In the beginning dont go toe to toe with an orc they will single shot you. Likewise regardless of your stats there will be characters (usually at the end of a crawl) that sidestep your backstabs, detect your sneak and will not go down. I know this because I have images of myself screaming RUN at my alter ego with all the veins standing out on my neck often enough.

That is the mark of a good game Also if I didnt want the changes I could just keep playing Oblivion, but I did that already.

My brother recently made a sneak character on my xbox while he was visiting and literally the same thing happened to us, and i even tried to take the random hired thugs out, i blamed him for probably stealing something he shouldnt have but hes played all 3 games as well and assured me he did not, eventually after about 15 tries i went in a building and when i came out to fight again they were gone, no explaination just vanished, he had just started the game and gotten to riverwood when it happened. I totally understand the skepticism and criticism from everyone as i was a little confused until i read on and watched the video. Also another note, i know the hired thugs were much higher level because they had plate armor and shock enchants on their weapons, and the long bow / steel dagger i had didnt stand a chance.

I had bad time being archer at this game, untill I decied to do some research... I skilled up blacksmithing, enchanting. This gave me few levels and freaking nice armors and weapons. I cleared some quests around white run and move into Riften and started thief guild quests.
After working on my blacksmithing stuff got easy tbh. Try doin' the same thing as I did, go to nearby mines dig some ores up and stuff make some nice armors and weapons. This should help you ALOT :toughninja:

Guys, I had a Frost Troll attack me at level 2 (I accidentally ran into Labyrinthian) and it nearly killed me in 1 hit (Adept difficulty). But I hid on a rock and killed it with about all 87 of my Iron Arrows. I got attacked by armed thugs (sent by Olfrid Battle Born) and I drew them out on to some rocks and fought them 1 by 1. I use a sword and a healing spell, though earlier on I used Flame Atronachs to help out.

I'm now about level 56, full Legendary Daedric Armour which gives about 550 Armour Rating and I wait for Dragons to land before beating them in the face until they die. To me, potions are generally inefficient. In any RPG, healing spells are the very backbone for adventuring. I was once killed by a Vagrant in The Ratway in 1 hit from full health. I had Superior Dwarven Armour (full set) + a shield which I was blocking with to brace for the attack and they just insta-killed me.

My point is, firstly, there's always a way to win. Secondly, sometimes weird sh*t happens for no reason. Just save often, and be prepared.

Has anyone told this guy that he must specialize and not raise every skill because most enemies scale to your level?