well thanks to the steam sale i decided to finally get dawnguard. my char is level 16 now and i play at medium difficulty. do you think 16 is the right level to start dawnguard? maybe later? should i soak myself in skyrims vanilla quests first before sinking into this dlc or should i take the chance and go in this dlc first to then use the armor and weapons from it for my vanilla quests?

thanks!

Any difficulty, I guess. The real question is when should you start? E.g. after what quests?

Dawnguard can be started any time really.
The level at wich you are notified of the dawnguard is level 10.
You can play it through then or wait it really doesn't matter.
There are a few quests that would be easier if you are a higher level but you can still get by most of the time at level 15 or so.

Of course it also depends on your play style and your gameing ability.
I'm not that great of a gamer but I can still get by at lower levels.

well "main quest" side joined the imperial legion and haven't even discovered markarth yet, i've focused myself with quests mainly around solitude due to my charicter being an imperial loyalist.

i just dont know the right time to take the leap into this dlc...

i just dont know if im going to rush into anything with a level 16 character. there is still a lot if not a gargantuan amount of stuff to do in vanilla. i'll put it into my perspective for you guys

im sitting at a dinner table with a meal,
the main meal is vanilla
dessert is dawnguard
the glass of water is Heartfire

i would like to go for dessert however i want to eat my main meal first because i like to work towards something that has a great reward i.e. the dessert of dawnguard.

However another part is telling me to test the dessert to see if how i will like it etc, its tempting, it looks delicious. but will i like it? curiosity can only tell me if i want this dessert to contribute towards my main meal.