Basically, I enjoy playing a sneaky conjurer type character, who isn't the best archer, melee fighter or destruction mage, but compensates for that with very cheap dirty tactics, it feels immersive to me, playing the type of character, I'd probably be most similar to if I was warped into the TES world, and desperately trying to survive employing a variety of tactics which aren't the most brave or impressive, but practical. Yes you heard me, I like playing as a sneaky cautious bloodthirsty yet incredibly cowardly conjurer with a crossbow- similar to my Skyrim character.

It sounds like I'll be able to make a somewhat similar character, but there's a variety of problems. Daedric Summoning seems to be far too reliant on the storm atronach summon, especially in PvP situations, where all the other pets will not only give me away in stealth, but supposedly, have very low damage and such as well. I've also read recently, that pet classes are often very weak in PvP in MMOs, because historically speaking, a few much older online games had overpowered combat pets which many players despised and I guess quit the game over or something, and then some developers went to the opposite extreme, making combat pets very very weak.

Currently, I'm trying to figure out what I am supposed to do in ESO to find a playstyle I'll actually enjoy. I know ESO isn't expected to be Skyrim online, and I know it's not supposed to be that. I'm sort of struggling to try to figure out something as SIMILAR to an extremely unusual playing style as possible, which isn't underpowered though. In PvE this will work, because my summoned followers won't give me position away, but in PvP, they will destroy my ability to utilize stealth.

I also do not just want to play, a typical, average mage, who just damages, or just heals, or just does a mixture of damage and healing. I do not want to be forced to play something which reminds me of the mage class from World of Warcraft when I enter Cyrodil.

I wish combat pets would stealth with the player, and that perhaps a skill line was added, which lowered the players individual damage, but increased the damage of combat pets by an equal amount. If I could spec into something, which would reduce my player characters damage by 70% and gave that 70% extra damage to my combat pets, and gave me the ability to hide my combat pets while sneaking, I think I'd like that change. My maximum potential damage output would be the same, but my player character would do less damage, and my pets would do much more, and perhaps a health buff for said pets if that doesn't scale well enough atm.

If something like these were added into ESO though, I think I'd be very content. I simply want it to be optional to make combat pets stronger at the expense of making the player character's damage output weaker, and to make it viable to combine them with stealth, as being unable to sneak in this game sounds like a massive gamebreaking disadvantage.

I might just end up playing siphoning nightblade with a bow instead instead, as it has a variety of things I like including a combat pet, although I do hope that daedric summoning gets looked at again.

I can't help with the Daedric Summoning line, as I've heard the same thing you have. The biggest weakness of it is that it lacks basic commands.

Historically, the problem with pet builds is that if they have too high damage, it tends to be an overpowered build as you can fire and forget your main damage source, and keep yourself out of harm's way as your pet unerringly destroys your target. If the damage is low, or they lack CC breaks, then people ignore the pet or applies CC to negate them.

I'd suggest a Nightblade shadowcaster using the Dark Shades skill from the shadow line. It doesn't really give you what you want, but it would be the safest bet. That said, it's sometimes fun to use what others say is underpowered and then turn it into something useful.

They have failed by not allowing commands for pets, my first ever beta I went summoning, and was totally let down by how awful it was.

Every mmo I have played as a summoner/necro 95% of the time they have pet commands (assist/attack/stay/follow) etc

Pets are very weak in this, and unless its given an overhaul will end up being the route most ignore certainly from meta gaming, as no benefit I found at all.

Storm Atronach is terrible in PvP because it's static and has low Health.

I think you have already figured out the answer. It will be very difficult to play your character the way you described in ESO.

From my experience in the beta, the summons are useful, but they're also situational like other skills. Stealthy PvP isn't a good time to use them if you're solo, but they could be a useful addition to a larger battle where they're liable to move around and not give your location away as readily (although they probably won't last long). Stealthy PvE is more conducive to their use, since enemies generally won't react intelligently to their presence, especially in a small party situation. (That said, the lack of control can make them a liability too - they're still a circumstantial addition, just easier to use alongside stealth.)

Daedric summoning has one of the highest PBAoE damage without resorting to using Destruction Staff for the sorcerer and works great for supplementing a build focused around weapons.

Basically, Daedric summoning is not pet style play it's more of the traditional TES conjuration style play; pets distract briefly, some times supplement damage, and die/need to be resummoned.

But yeah, as is, the summoning line is perfectly fine. Most people just don't know how it fits into their build due to wrong expectations. The second you realize it doesn't have an attack command is when you realize you're suppose to use it as an active or support rather than a mainline feature. Did I mention Daedric summoning has one of the highest AoE damage outputs and is pretty much the only AoE I take in PvE?

Right towards the end of the last beta session I think they buffed my Clanfear. He was killing stuff all by himself, something I had not seen before. That's at level 12 or so.

Say, you wouldn't happen to know what those shades look like by chance, would you? I didn't get the opportunity to see them in the beta.