Well, in the case of the second character to die that way, it takes talent and a bit of curiosity that results in a bit of wandering around before heading straight into the keep.

Here's a screenie showing her lying at Hedvar's feet:

http://wolflore.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=1517&p=25189&sid=d0520c32bf716275b09da1804f44dc35#p25189

It's hosted at wolflore, but on the general side. You don't have to join or be a certain age to see it.

The first character I made a video of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26X8RT2Eev8&list=UUy5P08mFrMjXLRKLQYAXsqQ

It doesn't spoil anything, and it's only a very few seconds long. The character got the dragon bite with head shake and toss.... which is also what happened to the second character.

I'm playing this sort of character at the moment. Unarmored Nord, under the Atronach Stone. Dagger in one hand, and a Destruction Spell in the other. Poisoned bow for ranged attacks. No enchantments other than objects gotten from the world. No Alteration. Perks are going to 1-Hand, Destruction, Archery, and Alchemy.

Regarding the above comments about DiD: I generally play DiD in games I know well; I've been playing Oblivion DiD for years. I don't play any differently with DiD or non-DiD characters. This character is not "officially" DiD (I'm still relatively new to Skyrim), but has not died yet (just reached level 10.)

Very similar to the character I want to make. Do you dual wield at all. And what about sneak?

My character is definitely sneaking, but not putting perk points into that skill. That may change if she has perk points to "burn" later on.

No dual-wield (unless one counts an equipped spell as a second weapon.) Poison is a big part of the strategy. The idea is to get poison into as many enemies as possible with the bow, and then switch to the poisoned dagger and Destruction for close range. The main close-in damage is touch spells. She may just go dual-cast in the future, when she has a bit more magicka...the character is still evolving.

100 block and become ethereal. this will allow you to play on legendary against multiple enemies without being at risk of dying. simply become ethereal if you suspect enemies. shield charge into them, making a loop to hit all of them. cast your favorite destruction spell. shield charge, spell, repeat. if you run out of mana or stamina you can use become ethereal. between the 3 resources, you should be essentially untouchable. no armor required. you can set your armor to the coveted -300 and your health to 5.

you can incorporate sneak in to this strategy.

illusion magic can also be used to great effect.

conjuration can be a great aid to help with damage and to minimize the number of shield charges. or it can help you get by early on before block is 100.

another trick is to use the staff of chain lightning. the spell won't work. the staff has a stun enemies on hit, allowing you to hit up to 4 enemies and stagger them, buying you valuable time if everything is recharging. at maximum cost reduction, you can stagger people permanently with 1 hand with the chain lightning staff, leaving shield charge open. or you can dual wield lightning staves and pin several targets in their place.

really, there are many playstyles that can be customized. another thread here is about making humanoid enemies yield when fighting and only killing aggressive fauna.

Definitely interested in that staff. Is that particular staff something I get from a dragon priest or is it the craftable one?

It's viable, so long as you have followers or summons, or anything to distract your enemies. As for sneaking and using daggers, get muffle or the enchantment ASAP since enemies can easily detect you. Perhaps also invest in poisons.

Become Ethereal, Throw Voice and perhaps Slow Time will be your best buddies... just watch out for archers, they will be the bane of your existence. And if things go to hell, fear them. Though for the undead you will need to use the turn spells at lower illusion levels, since fear will not work on them until you get the perk.