I think magic is better than in Oblivion but there are still things that could be improved..
My vision of magic is to give each school a spell line to attack and a shield like spell to defend itself.


Destruction has a lot of dmg spells but it also has cloak spells which serve as an interesting defensive/offensive hybrid.
Just in the spirit of the school.

Alteration is fine on the defensive side.. I was thinking of bringing back Burden as an offensive spell.
Alteration bends magical energies, so Burden would bend them around your opponents crushing their bones.. The spell would do dmg and slow down enemies..
Further in the line it could be called Smash, Crush, Obliterate...

Conjuration is close, but your minions don't always take dmg for you, so I was thinking of adding a "soul link" spell to share dmg with your summoned creature.
I know its "world of warcraft" but it fits. With the bonuses of regeneration to robes it kinda makes sense conjuring a set of armor was removed.
The visual effect would be cool if it was actually armored robes..
Additional attack spell would be "Flow of daggers" where you would summon multiple daggers (stars, darts) which would be thrown at your opponent. Channeled.

Illusion in theory has invisibility (75 skill), Calm and Fury, but it can be improved upon.
Illusion attacks a persons mind by causing distress, it's logical that the persons blood flows faster, which could lead to some nasty stuff.
The offensive spell (placeholder Horror) would inflict terrible visions to the enemy which would lead to so much distress in their body their blood vessels would burst and it would couse dmg.
The defensive shield type spell would cause a short 1-2sec Fear effect when the Illusionist was hit.

Restoration.
I have to admit I am disappointed in the Ward line.. Compared to a simple healing spell it protects less and costs more mana. My vision of Ward is that it is placed upon the caster (cast) and the next time the caster is hit it tries to absorb it and vanishes. If you are hit for less it absorbs the full amount and if you are hit for more, it absorbs its value. Could be reworked or another line.
The shield spell would heal the caster a bit every time he or she is hit. Not a huge heal but helpful.
Offensive spell would be kind of a "curse" placed upon the enemy which would deal dmg each time that person would cast a spell or use stamina.
Another spell that would be useful would be a spell that revealed the level and weaknesses of enemies. I think it fits in restoration because of "anatomy knowledge" needed for healing that this school has.


These are just ideas for you modders out there.
Good luck.

some good ideas there.

I always felt the 'drain' spells from oblivion should be illusion offensive spells as they are 'temporary' damage. I imagine it as using your illusionary powers to make them think they've been wounded.

I like some of the ideas, but I don't think every school of magic should be interchangeable. More spells would be good, though.