[Gill Mackin]

Without exploits, is it doable to have either a dual wielder, or a sword and board character who wears light armor? Said character would also use archery, and sneak a little, and obviously smith his gear.

EDIT: The only reason I am going to do this is because of the (probably true) rumour of the Solstheim DLC, and I will definitely want a Dunmer for that. I was thinking about conjuring dual blades.

EDIT 2: Scrap the sword n board. I am thinking arcane archer with dual wield and conjuration backup.

[Elizabeth Lysons]

Light armor can hit the armor cap, just like heavy. Custom Fit and Matching Set perks are there. I can't think of something, preventing it from being a viable choice.

[Killah Bee]

For what its worth, i havent tried Dual wielding, but im currently played an Imperial who specializes in light armor and Sword and Shield, and it works quite well. The trick is to effectively use your extra mobility and ability to block to either avoid damage completely or block attacks that cannot be avoided. Can be a bit difficult in the beginning though. Light armor melee in general gives you the advantage of being able to quickly close the distance between you and enemy mages or archers and still have a decent amount of stamina left over for shield bashing and power attacks.

If you play on harder difficulties, i would recommend smithing, as light armor obviously provides less protection, and you still need a decent armor rating to avoid being one shotted, particularly if you choose to dual wield.