This is the only type of character I've never done but some things seem obvious: Heavy armor, smithing, etc. I struggled over 1H or 2H but decided on 1H with a shield because I want the bonuses that come with a shield (blocking, magic resistance, etc.).

At any rate, is enchanting all that necessary for a build like this? I would really like to have a character that's utterly clueless about magicka. All they do is hack, slash, bash, and chop their way through Skyrim (and shout too).

But I have to have either alchemy or enchanting. I'm thinking alchemy because I don't really care all that much for using enchanted weapons. I don't like worrying about when the charge is going to run out. But with alchemy I can poison my weapons and make fortify 1H potions all day long. It's also an awesome moneymaker. But then again, so is enchanting. It makes picking up all those crappy weapons worthwhile. I hate carrying 200+ pounds worth of crap all the way back to X town and netting 300 gold from it.

So that's really my only conflict I guess: Alchemy or Enchanting or both?

Oh. Also, Health points vs. Stamina. I'm trying to do 2 Health to 1 Stamina. Is that a good balance?

What I'm doing now:

1H
Blocking
Heavy Armor
Smithing
Alchemy
Enchanting

And I'd like to get some Sneak in there once in a while too but that's a passive thing so it occurs anyway.

Oh. She's a Nord: Ingrid Bjallbuster.

This is a very strong build. You will be invincible in no time. I have done a build with just Smithing and Enchanting, and it was still very powerful. I found that Steed Stone is very good with Heavy Armor build, especially later on as your armor gets heavier. Steed Stone is very popular among heavy armor users. With Steed Stone and Vegetable Soup, I find that I have no need to increase stamina.

If you like sneaking with heavy armor, Muffle spell is very powerful. I try to invest a little in magicka early so that I can use muffle in sneak situations. I think you need 140 or 150 magicka to cast it. I carry around the novice hood in the beginning just so that I can cast muffle. If you are lucky and find muffle boots, you can disenchant it and enchant any boots with it. Muffle enchant is a great deal. You get perfect silence even when you have no skill in enchanting and with just a petty soul.

It looks like a valid tank build to me. Though you won't need that much stamina since power attacks only cost 1 stamina. Cooking is very powerful for this kind of build (regenerate stamina with soups), and since your building a character who is clueless about magic, alchemy would make more sense than enchanting. But if your playing on the higher difficulties I would strongly recommend enchanting, if only to boost your smithing and alchemy.

I maxed Enchanting on both characters and took the elemental perks, but I took them for resistances. I don't care for enchanting my weapons either because the recharging gets annoying - and, yes, I have plenty of soul gems, it's just annoying. Plus, with Smithing also maxed I can improve them just fine.

Both of my characters are Nord, but I enchant gear as such:
Boots: Fire and Shock Resistance
Ring: Fire and Shock Resistance
Necklace: Frost and Magic Resistance
...and Agent of Mara for an additional +15% Magic Resistance

I'm about to build a character like this so I appreciate the advice as well!

Excellent enchantments, Buckom. Mages scare the crap outta me, hence the old 'if you can't beat them, join them' plan of action. But it's getting oooooold...

That's exactly what I do, too, Buckom. I guess we went to the same school for creating OP characters.

Another thing that's super good to have is Fortify Block Enchant. It's a great deal because with 40% fortify block enchant, you almost max out your block effectiveness without taking any perks in the block tree. 84% damage reduction. I like enchanting my shield with fortify block and magic resistance, similar to Shield of Solitude.

Thanks. Yeah, Mages used to scare the crap out of me and now I charge them.

Oh, yeah, I would definitely use Fortify Block, but both of my characters dual wield.

Personally I'd go with either Smithing or Enchanting but not both. The boosts from the two combined are pretty over powered right now. As far as enchanting versus alchemy poisons I'd suggest enchanting just because it can get monotonous having to apply another poison after every strike and the weight of poisons can really add up when you're already pushing your limit with heavy armor.

Unless you have a roleplaying reason for a specific race I'd suggest Breton as their 25% Magic resistance protects against Frost, Fire and Electric attacks. With Agent of Mara from the quest in Riften, a higher level Shield of Solitude and the Alteration perks for Magic resistance you can build a 85% resistance to elemental damage by level 40. Combine that with a poison immunity necklace (to protect you from weakness to elemental damage poisons carried by a lot of Falmer and spell casters) and you're probably looking at the optimum damage reduction tank.

You could always skip enchanting altogether and grab/buy one Fortify Alchemy item, make a bunch of Fortify Restoration potions, and use the glitch to make a whole slew of hefty Fortify Smithing potions for your weapons and armor.

I do not recommend using Fortify Restoration Loop in your normal game. It's fun to play around with it for a hour, but it just breaks the game immediately and ruins the experience. If you decide to use it, make a save before doing it.

I don't think either alchemy or enchanting is really vital for a tank. I always seem to find or buy enchanted armor and jewelry that boost what I need. My latest tank found Orcish gauntlets that boost 1H 30% and boots that increase stamina 60 pts, for example, plus rings and necklaces/amulets that do similar things. She doesn't really have any magic resistance beyond the Shield of Ysgramor and her being a Nord, but you don't really need any when you can 1-hit a mage. Mage bosses can be scary, but they can't cast their Expert level spells on you while they're bouncing off the wall from a FUS-RO-DAH. Also, having a good mage follower of your own can be a big help (Aranea Ienith rocks).

That said, I am doing enchanting with this character. But it was more so that I could give my followers good stuff. I don't enchant weapons at all except to sell them (and yeah, it's a money-maker all right). If I were going follower-free, I probably would have stuck to only smithing.

I like alchemy,theres a potion for every situation in Skyrim.
You just have to know when and how to use it.
For anything that isn't resistant to poison then,well theres poison.
For draugr and any of the other creatures or undead that are immune to poison then there fortify one-handed or marksman potions.
Not good at sneaking?Drink a fortify sneak potion.
For dragons or mages you can always make some pretty good elemental resist potions.

The problem with alchemy is that it can be time consuming,figureing out all the effects and when to use them.
This is one of the parts that I like most about the alchemy skill,is that it actually takes skill to use.

All said and done I've only been able to make one character so far that could actually walk by a dragons tongue plant and not wonder what marvelous affects I could make with it.
It's a wonderfull skill if you don't mind taking the time to really learn it.

Well, everything was going great until I ran up against some Falmer. Man. I dedicated too much time to crafting but when you have filled soul gems and don't enchant your own weapons it seems a crime to just sell them--especially when you're carrying lots of looted weapons and armor. But the combat skills have suffered.

So I've also taken a perk in Conjuration in order to keep from getting swarmed. A Flame Atronauch is a poor melee fighter but it buys enough time to hack at Falmer from behind while not taking damage from them. But even the weakest of them can kick my ass one on one. I've tried not to pay for training but I need to see Farkas the next time I play.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice

This is exactly how I play

What about one of the Falmer hives that only have "Falmer" in the at all levels. Like in Blackreach most of them are "Falmer" even on my LVL 76.

I am talking about your basic Falmer. Specifically, I went to the Dwemer ruin underneath Markarth (I always forget how to spell the name of that place). Anyway, right after you kill Nimhe and enter the area containing Falmer, the first one you encounter is on a bridge. And he's as weak-sauce as Falmer come. But that dude killed me three times one on one. I am playing on Master but jeez-looo-eese. Eventually I let Lydia take the lead on it and summoned a flame atronauch. That method took care of them. But that's not what I want from this character. I want this one going toe to toe with no ranged attacks and minimal help.

It could also be that I'm just inexperienced at melee combat because I've NEVER used a style of fighting that hasn't gotten me the first couple of hits without taking damage from bows or Destruction magic.

I also only fight in 1st person. I wonder if fighting in 3rd would give a better overall picture of the situation... nah, I'll stay in first.

Wow. Damn.

You may already know this, but, if you're using a shield you kinda' have to aim it. When I was using one it took me a few minutes to realize I had to do more than just face the enemy.

I always prefer 3rd person because it's a more real-life field of view - it simulates peripheral vision. Yeah, you can see yourself, but in 1st person it's more like you're in an armored vehicle looking through a rectangular cut-out.

I've played nothing but a melee tank build, very similar to everyone here, I chose 2 handed though. Just liked the idea of doing more damage. I think 2 to 1 health over stamina is a good idea, and probably close to what I went with. I really think upping enchanting is good idea, as being able to put 2 enchantments really helps out. Just off memory I think my set includes:

Daedric Battleaxe: Soul Trap/Frost Damage
Daedric Bow: Paralyze/Lightning Damage
Daedric Helmet: Waterbreathing/Fortify Lockpicking
Daedric Armor: Fortify Health/????
Daedric Gauntlets: Fortify 2 Handed/????
Daedric Boots: Muffle/????
Necklace: Fortify 2 Handed/Frost Resistance
Ring: Fortify 2 Handed/Fire Resistance

With all the fortify to 2 handed weapons, if I can get close, which given my current level of health, I can, it takes 2 or 3 hits with a fully upgraded battleaxe to take out most any enemy in the game. I do realize that some of the enchantments I went with aren't that great for my current build, but, I haven't really felt like making new gear for awhile.

That is one of the best shields in the game. And with it, mages are easy peasy. But if you are still having issues, look to mods. That's a brilliant mod where you can get a great sword that repels magic (I can't remember the name). Really worth the effort (and it's not so easy to get).

Also, against mages, I use muffle, to get as cloase as I can, then charge. If you can reach them, they go down fast.

I like enchanting, but what a MAJOR pain in the butt it is. The constant recharging of items.. getting the Black Star will help.

That is a solid tank build. The only difficult thing is leveling up enchanting and alchemy without letting your combat skills fall too far behind. If you're choosing between alchemy and enchanting, I would definitely recommend enchanting, even if you don't plan on using enchanted weapons. Buckom posted a good base for enchantments, but if you are going to sneak a lot, you might be better off enchanting boots with muffle than using a muffle spell (though dis-enchantable boots of muffling can be tough to find), but that all depends on how much you sneak. The Agent of Mara is great for +15% magic resistance, and if you decide against enchanting, you should at least consider using the Lord Stone for the +25% magic resistance, though I personally recommend the Steed Stone for heavy armor users. As for health/stamina, if you make vegetable soup, you don't need that many points in stamina since you can use that to shield bash and power attack as often as you like. As for your shield, it should definitely have a fortify block enchantment on it so you don't need to spend more points in the block tree, and gauntlets could have that enchantment as well as a fortify one-handed enchantment. This is a really powerful build, but it can be tough early on. Once you hit the armor cap and get your magic and elemental resistances though, you are practically unstoppable.

For someone who does not do magic you sure have a strange taste in avatar images

I found this comment amusing, because it is my "tank" character that has nary a passing thought for what arcane uses might be gleaned from the wildflowers along the road.

My tank is Nord warrior-maiden who was looking for fame as a Stormcloak soldier. Now that the war is over, she's joined the Companions and takes odd jobs from the Jarls. Her main skills are:

Heavy Armor
Two-Handed Weapons
Block
Smithing
Archery

She also dabbles in Restoration magic, but will take no perks in it (only uses the basic starter healing spell). Otherwise, if she needs to heal herself, she has to use found or bought potions. My tank also loves to use shouts whenever possible!

Fortify Stamina? ...or Fortify Stamina Regen maybe?

Perhaps some people call him "Tim"?

@buckom- I honestly can't remember what else I put on them. I know it wasn't anything stamina related. I worked on getting my stamina high enough that I could power attack enough times to murderize anything I swung at, then concentrated on health. I honestly can't remember the last time I used a health potion now that I have all my gear setup like it is. When I get home from work I will look over my equipment and correct the "????'s".

You might find it even more amusing that that character was a pure mage,such barbaric practices of herbal remedies and poultices were below her intelligance.

That is why most of my characters like alchemy,they spend alot of time outdoors and living off the land.
It only seems natural that they would learn about poultices and such.
Also my characters tend not to think about alchemy as arcane arts or magick,even though the affects are generally the same.