OK. I've enjoyed my thief character but I want to try a mage. I found a couple of good threads it appears here:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1273561-pure-mage-guide/page__p__19279263__hl__leveling+mage__fromsearch__1#entry19279263
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1286612-guide-to-40-spell-scaling-stop-asking-for-changes-until-you-try-this/

Just wanting to make sure I'm going the right direction...

What professions should I focus on? One thread says Alchemy and Enchanting. I've also heard Smithing however.

As for skills, one of the above threads referenced this perk list: http://www.ign.com/builds/the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim?d=00000000000000000000000000000001111100000000001212121000001110100000020010131111035000111 with 33 perks in magic and 8 in Enchanting. Sounds right?

Any other threads that you've found that were helpful?

Well, if no other threads...am I going in the right direction with Alch and Ench? What about Smithing, do I need that?

Any other tips to help as I level up my mage?

There's really no better way of doing a mage than jumping in and testing everything to see what you like the most.

I use destruction magic and a bound sword to dish out damage, while I have a fellow mage from the college and conjured daedra to help thin out the swarms. I use restoration and alteration to help stay alive.

So at level 20, my skills are around:

Destruction: 65
Conjuration: 55
Restoration: 45
Alteration: 35
One-Handed: 35

You don't need smithing if your going to be a pure mage.

The person who wrote the guide saying Mages have great offensive power literally hasn't played with One-Handed, Two-Handed or Bows.

Enchanting will help curb some of the scaling problems Mages have but it's only a halfassed bandaid rather than a fix. Alchemy is generally only used to make potions that boost other craft profressions over 100 to make even better things.

No mater what every time i play i am always a battle mage. :mohawk: