Apparently werewolves got an upgrade in Dawnguard? Their own perk tree at least. Does it make them viable as a character build?

They've always been viable with the right build, but with Dawnguard they have received a considerable boost. So, in answer to your question, yes.

My younger brother says yes

Yes, with the perk tree and the ring of Hircine being a werewolf is now viable

Cool. I was thinking of something along the lines of an "average joe" so to speak who just wants to get by, but is cursed with lycanthropy and thrust into the role of a hero.

Are there any mods which allow you to wear the Ring of Hircine without having to re-equip it every time you shift?

Well I dont know about a mod which makes that change to the Ring of Hircine but there is a mod which lets you transform at will and for an unlimited duration.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25392

If that isnt to your liking its ok. But there are to other werewolf mod which I find almost essential.
Tales of Lycantrophy and Realistic Werewolves - Werewolf Sound Overhaul
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12687
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/13779

Thanks, TricKy! I hadn't heard of Werewolf Mastery yet (I see its a freshly released mod). I'm looking forward to trying it out.

How odd, my older brother says yes

wish there was a mod that lets you shout in wearwolf form ,and while were at it give your wolf some armor.....and potions

Aw yeah, if Gunmar can armour up trolls, why not you... while you're a werewolf? ;D

YES

While I'm addicted to the Vampire Lord, Werewolves did receive a nice beef-up with Dawnguard. They can absolutely rag-doll most any enemies they come across with the right Perks.

Werewolves are most certainly a viable character build, they have been since the release of the game not just since the release of Dawnguard. LONG before Dawnguard I was hunting dragons, killing up to 12-13 NPC's in a single engagement. I was making laps around the map on a single transformation, eating any being( human ) in my way to extend my blood lust, entire towns where slaughtered.( without the ring of Hircine ) You've been around for a while, you should remember my werewolf topic http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1394854-a-call-to-the-wolfpack-8/ if memory serves there's a ton of useful werewolf information from that link back. You need to adopt a " wolf mentality " when in beast form and hunt as a RL wolf would, the sneak skill is one of the werewolves best friends. With the right perk placement in the sneak tree you can have " Silent running " and " Light foot " carry over and it makes ambushing your prey much easier.

Since the addition of the Lycanthrope perk tree my werewolf has moved onto more challenging prey, I hunt dragons. Legendary dragons preferably but any dragon will do, nothing else poses a threat to my werewolf, so I would most certainly say that a werewolf build is a viable build.

I've never done it, but the concept of a sneaky, ranged, hunter type character always seemed cool to me. Like a Wood Elf or something maybe. Reason why is that with that character you're really tested to wipe out npcs with stealth and to not be seen, because that leads to straight up combat, which is not the characters strong suit. But by being a werewolf you can change and wipe out all opposition or at least get to the other end of skyrim in like 3.2 seconds. Another appealing aspect is that as a werewolf it is a fantastic option for Dark Brotherhood quest People are always ranting that werewolves are not stealthy but thats a bunch of malarky. Whats more stealthy than being there but not being there at the same time. No one knows your identity at all as a werewolf so there is no way you would ever catch any of the fallout you might face in regular form. So what if you can't use it all of the time or youll need a little more tact on main missions, thats what makes it fun. I think Ill try this out today, Ive never ever used a bow and arrow in skyrim.

I just remember after one of the patches they were nerfed because they no longer got a bonus from the light armor skill, so they became much more vulnerable in melee (mainly with larger groups of enemies).

Dawnguard gives them an armor bonus based around their level. You get 50 points every five levels above 11, until you hit 400 at level 46
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Werewolves

You just needed to be smarter with picking your prey and be willing to run when things got too " hairy ". Believe me when I tell you that I was hunting and killing up to 13 NPC's in a single engagement along with dragons llloooonnnngggg before the release of Dawnguard and boost to the werewolf form. I was doing laps around the entire province on a single transformation simply by raiding towns and cities, Whindhelm, Ivarstead,Riverwood,Falkreath,Shorestone are the towns off the top of my head that I turned into ghost towns.

It's all in the perk selection for your character along with the correct standing stone, Alteration can be a werewolves best friend as well as any warrior build where you dump all levels into health&stamina combined with either the Atronach stone or the Lord stone. Sneak carries over into your werewolf, armor spells carry over, and muffle carries over when cast before changing. Some destruction spells carry over as well, Frost cloak and Fire cloak for example, it all boiled down to stopping and thinking things through before you " turn ". And now that werewolves have the perk tree there's nothing that can stand in your way when you act tactically, not even legendary dragons and there's no reason why you couldn't remain a werewolf indefinitely if you chose to I did it.
Sift through the jargen that's in my old thread and you will find a lot of very useful werewolf knowledge, myself and a couple of the regulars tested and what not so I know it's there and I'm pretty sure it was from # 8 on back.

Which translates in to BADASASSERY!!!! There's nothing more satisfying then simply walking up to your prey like a badass and with a single swipe kick off a kill cam which ends in a bloody mess There's up to 4 kill cams for the werewolf and the player can control them by hitting the right button combination and all of them KICK ASS!!! Best kill cams in the game,hands down.

OH YEAH!!

While I am glad werewolves got a perk tree of their own, I have yet to play as one.. I might later on if only for the achievements sake but it will be temporary. I think what killed my interest to play as one is how weak they seemed in the base game (to me at least), but that was probably because I rushed too much or perhaps I was playing it wrong Even looking at the perk tree I wasn't satisfied enough to stick with it, but this was before I reloaded an earlier save.

I'll reconsider it but I'd prefer to be a Vampire Lord myself, so I may or may not take it beyond getting the achievement.. it also happens to be the last Dawnguard specific one that I need.