How can I get the highest possible unarmed damage?

I know Khajiit and Argonian get added damage to their unarmed attacks, but how much?
I also know you can get a perk in the Heavy Armor skill tree that adds to your unarmed.
I know that Gian the Fist in the Ratway has the Gloves of the Pugalist that increase your unarmed.

Can I disenchant the Gloves of the Pugalist and enchant a Heavy Armor set of gauntlets to increase the unarmed attack even more?

So what else could I do to increase unarmed attack?

Khajiit get +12, while Argonians get +6. And yes, you can disenchant the Gloves of the Pugilist. So, for the best damage, be a Khajiit, get the Fists of Steel Perk, then enchant a pair of gauntlets with the highest armour rating possible (Daedric for heavy, Dragonscale for light, I believe) with the enchantment, then punch a dragon to death.

I like the way you think man.

I've been punching bears, goats, wolves, rabbits, mudcrabs, deers, and bandits to death for quite a while now. It svcks that I don't get any kill-animations from using a fist-shield combo.

But Dragons are another story.

So as a Khajiit you get 22 Unarmed Damage. The Gloves of the Pugilist adds 10 damage to your unarmed attacks, so I am guessing that if you disenchant and enchant another item, you still get +10 unarmed damage. I noticed you can put it on a ring, gloves, or gauntlets as well. Fists of Steel perk adds the Gauntlet Armor Rating to your unarmed attack, and the best gauntlet armor rating in game is (I think) Daedric, which adds 18 to it.

22 (Khajiit) + 10 (Enchanted Ring) + 10 (Enchanted Gauntlets) + 18 (Daedric Gauntlets with Fist of Steel Perk) = 60 Unarmed Damage

Is this correct?

I'm not sure what the maximum armour rating for gauntlets can be, but I'm estimating that, as a Khajiit, you might be able to get above 60 damage per punch, with Fists of Steel, high Heavy Armour, and the Pugilist enchantment. It might be high enough for dragon killing.

Does it add base armour rating or total armour rating for the gauntlets? Because 18 is only the base for the Daedric ones. With high Heavy Armour, and improved to Legendary, it can be much higher, I believe.

...that makes a lot of sense. It'd take a while to get all that though, but it's a good idea.

I might start over on my current character and go this path.

I might try this out, too. I want to say that I've punched a dragon to death.

I tried punching Mirmulnir (or whatever) to death at the Whiterun Watch Tower, and I did, but it was hard and I almost died on Novice difficulty from what I remember.

And if you want to use a shield (go Captain America) while doing so, I know this cool trick that lets you 'punch' with the shield like Captain America does. While sheathed, pull LT and instantly pull RT right after and it looks cool.

Is that different from shield bashing?

Yes it is different.

You can Power Bash, and you can Shield-Bash, but I am talking about Shield-Punching.

The game registers it as a left-handed power attack with your fists, but your shield is still on your arm so it looks like a shield-punch.

Sweet. I'll have to try that next time I'm able to get on Skyrim.

I think you can get more than 10 with Enchanter 5/5 and an Enchanter's Elixir. my Orcish gauntlets are +9 and I'm on Enchanter 3/5.

Click on the bottom link in my sig for a nice scrap with the toughest unarmed opponent in the game - master difficulty - and with the HUD off.

Unfortunately, I turned off the Signatures in my settings and don't know how to turn them back on, so I don't see anyones signature.

Right now I am starting a new character:

-Shield-Fist Combo
-Going to Riften asap to get Gloves of the Pugilist
-Go from there