So like, there are posts that say magic is too weak. Something about no magic after fireball/Ice storm/chain lightning. There are also people saying its too strong. Magic drains like crazy early on, and when it gets near being able to be used its not really god mode. The only real op'd part about magic is the impact perk, but at some point it pretty much becomes a necessity to survive against tougher opponents. Anyways, there are spells after fireball/ice storm/chain lightening. Get to skill level 90, go to the mage's college. Talk to the destruction professor. The end level destruction skills are really really powerful, as long as you don't expect to plow through the game just using a single school of magic. With alchemy/enchantments, along with some other stuff, mages are pretty well off. Alteration is great for defense, and restoration if trained makes for a good safety net. Alchemy for potions. Enchantments for stuff to raise magicka regen and what not.

I think the reason some people felt mages were weak was cause all the spells up till fireball/ice storm/chain lightning and all that are available as soon as you get to the college of winterhold. So they buy it, and own for a few levels. The push for the next set of destruction spells is significantly more difficult (relatively speaking).

Mages seem OP'd from the outside looking in, but pretty much any boss enemy can slice a mage up in like 3 good hits on adept difficulty. Mages on all fantasy games (Except maybe dark souls?) are nukes. They have [censored] for defense though. Speaking of pure mages however. A spell sword or a nightblade may be a different story, but they need to divert perks to other skill sets so that is their trade off I suppose.