First off I′d like to say that I′m fairly new to the forums and may not know all the rules yet, so I apologize in advance if this thread goes against any forum policy.

So Skyrim is comming and everyone has different ideas about their character, and many have a very good general idea about their character but can′t decide on the details, this thread is for those people.
The purpose of this thread is basically to let someone else decide for you (It′s always easier to decide for someone else rather than for yourself after all ) if you can′t decide, and to keep this clean it would be nice if everyone just 1. Answered the above poster deciding for him & 2. Described their own problem. So if person Y is participating he will answer the questions person X put up and then describe his problem for person Z to work out.

So as the OP of this thread for Skyrim I will begin with my questions, it is ok to post if you are not participating but just try to keep it clean.

I′ve always loved the idea of a fighter in heavy armor with a shield and a mace that casts defensive spells (alteration & restoration) and has very little offensive power, but in Skyrim I will likely not be able to do all 3, so should I A: Wear a mace + shield and skip defensive spells, or B: use a mace + defensive spells and skip the shield or C: use a shield + defensive spells and skip the mace or D: Invest in defensive spells that last long but are weak and cast them before battles + equip my mace & shield ?

Definitely D. Weak spells might seem like a poor investment but they are actually very practical because you'll never end up in a situation where you can't cast them as they cost little magicka. Thus you can treat them as a sort of passive bonus. A Shield 5 spell might not be much, but remember that your starting armor will be something like 15. If you raise the Alteration skill enough consistently, the ratio will persist throughout the game. So we're talking about a "passive" 33% armor bonus. Do the math

I usually go for a stealth type character who uses ranged weapons and blades with light armor. Basically my char is a Dark Brotherhood stereotype. But with the new dual wielding thing I'm wondering if I should invest in using spells or should I go Legolas and use double short swords when I can't bring my enemies down.

I also make a barbarian type character as well who uses double handed weapons. Mostly blunt because by the time I make this character I am sick of blade. What I am asking is should this character also use ranged attacks or just be the gung ho guy I usually make him. Oh and should he specialize in heavy or light armor?

Feel free to suggest anything else that you think would help me out. Even if it's a completely different set of specialized skills. (since classes don't exist)

Have to agree. Just think how useful a low level frost shield spell could be. And if they keep the armour encumbrance reduced by feather spells mechanic, and you need to run for your life wearing all that iron, then there's another alteration spell that's really useful at lower levels.

Go for the Legolas type on your stealth type character, not only will you already have ranged damage with bow + arrows, but you will also be able to test out the new dual wield feature by taking that, if you are worried about healing you can practice alcemy (it would fit well with the stealthy ranger archetype) and spell damage you can enchant your two blades, imagine bashing an enemy with two swords each enchanted with their own damage type like maybe fire on one and shock on the other, and ofc you can enchant the bow too.

Make the barbarian type use a 2h and cast spells, even if you′re not allowed to cast with a 2-hander you can just cast spells and then draw your weapon, like with your ranger when you first shoot arrows and then take up swords, oh and go for heavy armor on that one.

Anyone else with a question ? Keep this thread going if possible I know there are others with questions since I′ve ran into ppl who don′t seem sure what they will do in Skyrim countless times.

For the stealth character it really depends on what race and birthsign you'll choose. The deciding factor is how much max magicka you can have: if you choose neither a race nor birthsign that grants bonuses to it, you'll eventually end up in a situation where your damaging spells are no longer of use since you can't effectively cast spells strong enough for the challenge. In that case you should go for dual-wield daggers as their effectiveness will scale evenly with your level. If, on the other hand, you choose a race like Breton and a starsign like Apprentice, it is well worth going magic since inevitebly some opponents will be strong against daggers, mostly the bosses and heavily armored warriors with shields. Plus, you'll have a lot more tricks up your sleeve with the aid of Alteration and Illusion

As for the barbarian. Yes, he should definitely wear heavy armor as his fighting style will demand a juggernaut approach (charge no matter the opponent's numbers). As for ranged, it's not really necessary IMO. Ranged attacks help warrior characters who live by the philosophy "haste makes waste, let them come to me" and not the vicious berserker approach. In most cases you'll want to get as close as possible to your opponent anyway and when you do, you'll allways switch to dual-maces for more damage. If you took ranged, you'd rarely use it, and constantly switching between weapons would annoy the hell out of you. I'd suggest foregoing ranged and instead practicing the new Sprint a lot so that noone can outrun you