I decided to stray off the main question and go exploring caves around whiterun to get some xp and loot. The first cave I entered all went smooth till the last boss who was a centurion. So I decided to come back to this cave and find the other cave near whiterun. I entered the cave to find a troll staring at me, not a frost troll. I am a noob in skyrim and have some basic knowledge of the combat system and have a level 7 nord and lydia doesnt do much damage either.

So that brings me to the question, is there a ideal level you should be before you start exploring caves? or is it just based on what weapons you have?

It's a little bit of both, better weapons will help but some dungeons minimum level are higher. Although there are some low level dungeons near Whiterun and the Riverwood/Falkreath area until you get a bit higher in level.

Most of the dungeons and side quests that exist around Whiterun should be some of the easiest early on. I play only Dead is Dead characters right now, and that is why I do most of these early on and gain levels quickly.

You really shouldn't have a problem, you just may need to be a bit more careful on lower levels. Above all, I would suggest getting more familiar with the combat system if you are having some issues in fights. While fighting something like a snow troll is going to be difficult at lower levels, it is completely "do-able".

funny you say that because I tried two caves around whiterun and they both whooped my butt. First one had a centurion and the second one had forest trolls. I might just try and find other caves but I dont think there is a way to determine the difficulty of a cave before entering it is there?

Past the mid 20s, the game scaling really starts to take a nose dive. In an ideal world you could cap at around 25 - however - the problem is that you will not have many crucial Perks that make the game fun, and the only way to obtain them is to get perks that imbalance the game or you reach a level that does so. In my experience once you get into the 30s especially, the game becomes crap.

No, there isn't, at least not without a cheat book (like a game guide). I do the same thing you're talking about. When I find a cave has something that can kick my but, I just leave and come back later. But there are caves, mines, and such that are easier. I won't name them here...wrong forum.

no minimum

it s about finding the right one. also taking faedal along can help, and there is a dog you can buy. in any case I soloed a bandit tower near riverwood at level 1, using stealth. the trick with stealth is to hit them then fall back with sprint and hide. then attack again. easier with bows. because with swords you may get 2-3 bandits running at you, and that s where you need a companion and the dog. but with a bow it s easier to solo.

another thing is your stock of potions and food. resist potions are usefull and salmon steak (fishing near riften)

if you enter a place that seem scarry, like a troll at level 1, leave.

there is also a mine between your exit from heggen (where you start) and riverwood. not bad for low level, because they show up in small groups. also if you dont clear a dungeon, it respawn faster, like they get new bandits recruits. so you can get a lot of loot and practice that way early on

finally there is an outdoor cave close to the whiterun watchtower behind whiterun (called whitewatch tower)
so you can go there, hit them, hop on their horse (steal it) and tempt them to follow you toward the guards
then the guards help you finish them off

another trick is to spot a thalmor patrol (or imperial or stormcloack) and tag along and help them fight whatever, grab the gear from fallen bandit or possibly if you are lucky, a full elven set. (if a thalmor is killed by bandits)

( but I dont think there is a way to determine the difficulty of a cave before entering it is there? )
the caves are leveled, but they got a minimum level
if its a falmer spot, it will always start with falmers ... which isnt for level 1

bandits, while better equiped than the player, can be a good early target.
they exist both indoor and outdoor
they often *sit on mines*, I really mean: occupy them, and so do forsworn (a bit nastier because of leaders)

if a cave got a lot of blood and bones, it s a hint.
those are dangeous caves

bandit caves usually got a lookout guy parked outside.
that s their hint

wizard caves often got wizard parked outside

if nothing is parked outside, it may be verry nasty

dwemer always got dwemer constructs at some point, and you wont trash that aftyer just riverwood

but most start with something else like bandits, falmer or other stuff

its not about levels , you must feel the game . and simulate the charterer . what would you do when you start a courier ? you need an income and a house and
a gear or tools . so that means you are rushing your self to hard combats without a good reason except that you are lazy and lost and just want action
but for your surprise you just getting whipped and its no fun anymore .
go back cut wood buy a house organize your inv and learn skills / make good gear if you like or buy it personally am going up to 100 smith 100 enchanting
and i have full enchanted smith suite and enchanter and smith philter potion , am gonna make my self a gear that will make me go through hard quests like butter
i havent made any hard quests yet after 200 days of playing .

a big part of the problem is they didnt fix the game difficulty.
allowing to switch between novice and master prevent them from doing interesting stuff
diablo II get higher density (number of monsters) and mini boss and specials
that keeps the game interesting

the other part of the problem is that game shouldnt even have levels, just skills
and scale according to your best offense and defense

when was the last time a level 40 locksmith
(locksmith 100, speech 100, pickpocket 100, but not armor stealing or weapon stealing ....)
posed any threath to anyone ....
I mean his melee and ranged and magic arround 15 with no perks ...
are not really intimidating

They auto scale the dungeons....so level one

Character "level" doesn't mean what you think it means. It has very little to do with relative power of your character. You start out this game ill-equiped, but quite powerful. Perks make you more powerful, skill level does a little too but not nearly as much. Character level has nothing to do with it.

I would have to agree with this, but I am not sure how you could possibly balance the game outside of level scaling. The problem, I think at least, is how levels work. They are artificial in Skyrim. Your Health, Stamina, or Magicka goes up by 10. The way they go up is by increasing skills instead of combat xp or quest xp. Really and truly, non-combat skills should not share the same Perk points with Combat skills. That makes Lockpicking, Speech, Pickpocketing, Enchanting, Smithing, and Alchemy instead have their own system.

Personally, I don't think those even NEED perk trees and that is what causes most of the upset and imbalance is because they had no idea what to do with Crafting Perk trees that make them interesting without upsetting game balance. Instead, the "special perks" from Lockpicking, Speech, and Pickpocketing should be "skills" or abilities you obtain through quests or exploration - example - the ability to Fence items would stem from a Thieves Guild quest and the Skeleton Key would as well. Speech skills may come from Jarl quests.

The Crafting system instead should be entirely reworked. I think NPCs should instead craft and upgrade items for you with the perks simply eliminated.

Not true.

If you want proof, enter Valthuume at level 1. Tell me how long you last

This my advice. Do not just go into random caves and dungeons without having a side quest or bounty. First off you may run into some very very hard to kill enemies, especially at the lower levels. Also you may end up with a few broken quests. So basically what I mean is if you just go into a cave and have no objective in that cave it's possible you may interfere with a quest you'll get later on. Which ends up being a pain because you will never be able to finish that quest, it will always be on your quest log and sometimes you will not have the option to progress further with certain characters. Broken quests are not fun but even worse are broken quest lines.

A good way to get into some of the easier caves is talk to people in Whiterun, it seems the Whiterun quests are pretty easy, they don't send you anywhere that is impossible to survive. Another great way to activate quests for some of these places is to go and talk with inn keepers and tell them your looking for extra work. There is nothing wrong with sticking around Whiterun for a while. I stayed in that area for upwards of 50 hours. I built up my character and then went on to the harder stages of the game. One more tip. While exploring and when your in a town take on the side quests. Some of them can be very hard earlier on but most are pretty straight forward and easy.

Enjoy and have fun but be careful of breaking any quests.

Now that I got my butt handed to me in the dungeons. I am sticking to whiterun talkin to the bartender in bannered moore. She seems to give out side quests like nobody's business lol. I got a couple from her am going to finish it and then talk to her. I guess thats what I can do because I dont want to run through the main quest

Cool. As you explore through Skyrim you'll find plenty more quest givers like that bartender. It seems your doing like I did. I just kept doing Whiterun missions and eventually set off once I was a higher level. Just keep doing those quests, get the gear and weapons you want and start filling up the essential perks for your character and soon nothing in Skyrim will stop you. Also don't be afraid to change the difficulty setting from adept to one of the lower ones. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometime I had to do it because I couldn't beat certain things. Or if completed an entire cave or dungeon on adept and then find I can't get past the last guy I would lower it then turn it back after I beat them. Believe me take hold of the challenge while you have it available because sooner than later you be playing on master kicking ass. Actually I'm at the point where I'm playing on master and I have to downgrade my weapons and armor. You may think you'd rather have it easy and breeze through quests but challenge is something I miss right now and oneday you will also.

All is pretty much told by previous comments but there is 1 thing that i did to get a bit practice and level a bit before i went off to explore the game. After you have fled from Helgen, and made your way to Riverwood, i went back to Helgen. On the way there i found a little dungeon in a mine with some easy bandits so i cleared that one. Then i continued to Helgen and found that some bandits took over the place. I killed them and went into Helgen keep. Cleaned that one and picked up some nice loot to fill my pockets with some coin. (Really wanted to have some money for the Witherun house)

I then stayed a while in Riverwood and just enjoyed chopping wood, talking to the people there and look around for a bit. When i decided that i wanted to try fast travel i picked Helgen as my destination because i thought it would be save since i cleaned up the bandits there. But to my suprise (and good fortune) the bandits did respawn and i got another nice round in cleaning up Helgen and Helgen Keep.
It gave me some nice loot, some most wanted experience and i learned that 'dungeons' will respawn enemies over time so you can level a bit without the risk to break quest lines.

Just my two cents on this subject, hope it helps!

Level 1.
If it's too hard, down the difficulty, if it's too easy, up the difficulty.