Might be a silly question to some, but for some reason it bothers me if they wouldn't. I dunno why they wouldn't but, would they?

This is like asking, if a race would eat a red apple instead of a green one.

This is something to do with the individual, not the race.

To answer the question, yes.

I always thought they'd be partial to swords, claymores specifically, but yeah, I don't see why not.

If the milkdrinker wanted, sure. It would be shorter than others though. Not by much however. Thats if he had it made for him.

"If you would like to go axe to axe with a bunch of Daedra-worshipping madmen, then we might have work for you." - Yngvar the Singer

I'm not assuming that ALL bretons are forsworn, but... All bretons are forsworn scums!

I plan on using waraxes for my Breton playthrough. Ive ran into some briarhearts who use ebony waraxes. So yes

As said, that's a very individual preference. A Breton may not be as suited for a war axe as an Orc, but there's nothing saying they can't learn to use one. I'm sure there's a decent amount of Breton warriors.

This.

For Some reason people on these forums think all members of a race are the same. that they all believe the same gods, that they all wear the same armor, that they all use the same weapons, they have the same Mindset, the same goals..

which can not be farther from the Truth..

Yea, and you see contradictions in the actual games, too.

One of my favorites was Honditar from Oblivion. He was an Altmer hunter/mountain man; he didn't act mage-like at all. Always talked about how skittish the deer were.

Not to mention that some races have different subcultures/races that tend to differ greatly in beliefs, lifestyle, etc.
The Skaal, Forsworn, and Ashlanders being examples of subcultures of Nords, Bretons(well, they have Breton roots), and Dunmer respectively.

Bretons get the highest start in conjuration and conjuration has a bound battleaxe. If Bretons are more magicka based than stamina then a bound weapon weighs nothing so requires low stamina.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Any race can pick up and swing an axe, you just have to point it and slash at the right people.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsbdvjDx5P1qcju3no7_500.jpg

My Breton warrior used a war axe with conjuration. It depends on the individual, not the race. Not all Bretons are Forsworn or nobles. You can make up a backstory to justify most anything if you're a RPer too.

As has already been mentioned a couple of times, it's personal preference. And availability of resources factor in too. It requires less metal to craft a waraxe than a sword, for example (generally speaking).

Bretons, by-the-by, do have a thing for knightly orders though.

The race stats mean next to nothing in character design as any race can be anything but they do reflect upon the race's lore and society / culture.

Such as tradition and lore / society says a Nord is raised with little love for magic. Walk around Skyrim casting magic and many people such as guards will make displeased comments. This is reflected in race stats. That is what I believe the OP is asking.

Bretons are a race with a lot of magic emphasis in their society (compared to neighbouring Skyrim who look similar but are the opposite being more warrior based society).
Forsworn are a branch of old Breton so they give us a good glimpse into traditional Breton ways. Also we know their society is soaked largely in the school of conjuration based magic and conjuration has it's own axe.

Why wouldn't a Breton use one? If they can wield a waraxe, and it was within their reach, why not? Use whatever you have to win a battle.

My Breton uses her trusty waraxe every day, a steel waraxe smithed to legendary.

No they dont. its a sin to raise a waraxe in High Rock. punished by death. so yeah your breton cant use them..

Why not? There's nothing stopping them.

The image in the Morrowind manual shows a Breton with a war-axe, in fact.