So I'm level 47.. the actual skills I've been using are all mostly at 100.. and I realized.. hmm.. now to fill out the perk trees for the skills I've actually been working on.. I have to start using new skills so I can keep gaining levels?

It seemed to make sense at lower levels.. If all I did was work on archery than I'd have enough perk points, once archery hit 100 to fill out the archery tree, making me an archery master. Yes that makes sense. But then I start working on another skill and now even though I have 100 in it.. and have supposedly mastered that skill it takes more levels of that skill to level up, meaning less perk points.. so now I have to work on one handed to fill out my light armor perk tree. And once I've mastered one handed, well then I'll have to work on destruction, restoration and smithing just to get enough perks points to fill that out.

Seems a bit odd.

I understand that it'd also be odd to be a complete master at everything with every perk tree filled out. I have no ideas on how it could be better.

What's everyone's thoughts on this and how would you have done it?

Well yea, that's why they said its a soft level cap at 50, because it becomes very difficult to level after that point.

Well, skills and perks are not one and the same, so it doesn't bother me that I can have 100 skill in something but not every perk.

At some point, the perk tree vs the skills level will have to be skewed to fill up the trees, if that's what you choose to do. I don't think there's a way around it unless the tree and skill plateaus became rigidly linear

There needs to be like double perk points from 1 to 10, then 1 per after.

Right now I want my smith/warrior/thief to be able to make steel plate, but I went right on the tree, and Ive used my perk points in other areas.

Im not sure why things like smithing/enchanting/alchemy require us to pretty much waste perk points.

Same as Oblivion, I tried to only use skills in the three stats that i could improve, then you got maximum bang for your buck when you leveled.
Oblivion was a stat based game with 'perks', Skyrim a 'perks' based game without stats.
It's good to have restrictions and choices in character building, increases re-playability and makes you think about your character. The one aspect why I choose Never Winter Nights 1 as best rpg I have played to date.

Your skill level certainly seems to be a stat, chocoballs, and it is not a stat that is useless or meaningless without perks in that skill

I guess it's probably because the perks don't feel like perks in some trees. Take for instance the lockpick perk tree. I feel that if I have 100 in the skill a master lock should be rather simple to open. But since I haven't taken any perks in the tree the master lock is still just as difficult to pick as it was when my lockpick skill was 20. Basically my skill level hasn't seemed to improve my lockpicking at all. That makes me feel that the perks are entirely necessary to that skill but now I have to work on some other skill to get points to fill out the lockpick skill.

There are other skills however, like speech that the perks don't seem necessary at all. I have a 40 in speech and have yet to fail an intimidation.. I've failed persuade but intimidation or bribe always seems to work.. so why would I need to take the perks that supposedly make those easier?.