Just a class idea that I've seen before but sorta wanted to put my spin on it

Race: Redguard

Skills: One-Handed (Scimitars), Alteration, Destruction (Cloak spells), Smithing (Only Steel Smithing and Arcane Blacksmith, maybe Dwarven Smithing), Alchemy, and Sneak. Might invest in Block for a certain Dwarven shield but I haven't decided yet.

The one thing I can't figure out is what difficulty to set it on. My last 2 characters have been on Expert with no HUD (this one won't have a HUD) but I feel like I'll become underpowered really fast since I'm only going to be using a scimitar (and a certain enchanted one when I get to that point). Thanks for any input you people have

Edit: Some more questions I thought of:
Does Augmented Flames, Frost, and Shock affect cloak spells?
What should I set my magicka at so I really don't run out of magicka when I cast a flesh spell then a cloak spell?
Would I be better off dual-wielding scimitars or using a scimitar and shield?