Right, I believe I'm about ready to start on my pet project. First thing's first:

1. As a user of Mod Organiser do I need to run other things like GIMP and 3DS Max through MO as well?

2. Where's the best place to find new textures for things like armour, chainmail, brickwork etc.?

3. I'll be starting out with something small but very important, designing my main banner. Other than retexturing it how do I make it a standalone banner? This is most important because I NEVER want to replace ANYTHING that's already in the game.

You'll probably need Blender and Nifskope. not sure though.

Do you have the DDS plugin for GIMP?

http://www.cgtextures.com/