I have seen videos of people being level 30, they get hit with the shout and they get knocked down or something, and then more hits kill them. But I'm dying with a shout, it does't even need hits to kill me, and I'm a level 52 at least.

Maybe you are dying from fall damage. Were you falling from a high place? It is one of the most popular ways of killing with Unrelenting Force.

My guess that your Lydia is at a very low level. She's stuck at whatever level you were when you first met her. Read around the spoilers board about using the Wabbajack to bring your follower to your level. It doesn't work on all of them, but it does work on housecarls. If you're on the PC, as I think you are, then it's even easier with the proper console command, and that works on all followers. Also, you can buff your follower with better gear--ring, necklace, armor and melee weapon. (Bows are bugged, so don't bother. She'll always use her default bow.) She'll use staves too. There are some enchants that won't work on followers, but basic ones like health will. You can have her activate a shrine of Arkay, which should give her a 25-pt health boost, but I'm not sure that really works.

Give you a meat shield, distraction and a pack mule. That's all they're good for

I remember walking into Sigdis Gauldurson when I was level 9 . . . and you can't get out of the barrow until you kill him. What I did was hide behind his coffin and just fill him full of arrows. Not exactly the most heroic method, but it worked.

When you enter a dungeon, I am pretty sure you set the level at that point, so if you get jammed up - and I had the same thing happen to me in that dungeon, beating a hasty retreat is the better part of valor.

I went back a little while later and with judicious use of summons (Sanguine's Rose is great, but at the 18-19 level, the fire atro is pretty useful as well) and judicious use of me constantly ducking down the hallway after firing and arrow or spell, I was able to finally clear that particular dungeon.

Frankly people forget that sometimes "run away" is a valid strategy. I also just had a fight, at level 18, where Kharjo and I came out of one end of a pass... and there were not one but TWO freaking wispmothers right down the path. I got stubborn, after getting killed twice, and was determined to clear my way without going back through the ruin I had just cleared on my way through the pass. So I basically spent the time firing my Flame Atronach, letting Kharjo run into the wisps, I would take one firebolt and run into the ruin, restore magicka, and/or heal and come back out. In that way, with careful placement of my character, I managed not to die, although taking out the second wispmother, after we had successfully removed one, ended up being close. Those things flit away quick from firebolts. I probably had less than 20% health when all was said and done. And for minimal reward - some wisp wrappings, that was it. Well, it was rewarding having killed them both.

The boss could hit me just fine, so no "exploiting" in that sense.
I got out of combat faster by using a shortcut in the place. But some people consider fortify destruction enchants as cheating as well so... *shrugs*

Places high up in the mountains or in very deep pits will be higher level. Sightless pit is my favourite place so far.

Whatever works.

I've needed to make more than a few hasty retreats throughout the game ... sometimes not hasty enough.

And I rather doubt my strategy .for giants .. used whenver possible ... of finding a spot where they can't get at me and peppering them with arrows will ever make it into the Hero Hall of Fame ... particularly when I'd leave my poor companion to hack away by themselves.

Maybe not the standard of behaviour one might expect from a "Dragonborn" but, beats getting whacked by a giant's club and launched into the stratosphere ... just ask Lydia, she knows.

Someyimes I wonder why that poor girl still talks to me.

Because you don't have to run right to that dungeon as soon as you get the quest? Because you should have levelled a bit after Whiterun and your first dragon, and going to see the Greybeards? Because there's a huge world out there with hundreds of dungeons and quests, and you should probably experience some of it before diving headlong into the main quest?

This game is very open ended, but it also has unspoken rules- one of which is, experience the world. Get good gear. Get BETTER. You can and will be given quests that are difficult at your level. The game doesn't judge you- it gives you these quests and expects you to act accordingly. Go out and skill up, then go back. It's that simple.

It's not a bug.
We defeated Sigdis on that quest and Niamh was not even level 30, had no shouts, only a bow, and was naked.
Obviously your character is more of a woman than she is.
(No offence to women)

Really? You don't get it?

There are enemies in Skyrim that are *supposed* to be hard to kill on lower levels. It's by design. Get over it. Come back later. Eat some sweetrolls.

I'm playing the whole game on level 1 and i still found a way to kill those bosses. It ain't easy, but it is possible.

That nicely highlights the problem of level scaling; bosses are easier at lower levels

Maybe so, but if you're a higher level, then you should have a tougher boss.
Stands to reason.

I still don't see any valid argument for tough bosses being a problem or a "bug". If they are tough, try harder, or go away and come back when you're tougher - we've had to do that loads of times.

I disagree. At level one, anything level 10 or higher is going to be hard. A level 20+ boss is going to be *really* hard.
Heck, i ran into level 22 Frost Trolls more than once and they will still put up a real fight, even after 200+ hours of play.

The game does feel more balanced when you stay at level 1, but it's not because everything is easier, it's because high level enemies remain to be a challenge ...
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1359145-staying-at-level-1-and-never-level-up/

May have to try that. After all, only the first dungeon is challenging, and it just gets easier from there on.

This time i did Ansilvun first. Very difficult, and got killed many times. Many fights i had to refine my approach before i could survive them. Now at level 39 it's just kill, kill, kill

Here's an idea.... Back track... Exit dungeon... Do other things... Level up... Get better gear... Enchant your armor and/or weapons... Re enter dungeon... Kick his ass... Then... Celebratory crouching....