I don't use them. I don't know why, but I prefer using actual magic.

The magic/shout distinction is a bad idea from a gameplay perspective. Without it, the new ideas that went into shouts could have gone into spells - we could have force-push and disarm spells in Alteration, for example. The design goals of making magic and shouts distinct interferes with the design goal of making magic awesome. The distinction was included for story reasons, but the next game probably won't have shouts - and that would be a good thing.

Bit of a long winded way of saying "Dragons don't start appearing until you've completed the quest Dragon Rising." isn't it?

Maybe. But sometimes people don't quite understand short and sweet, so it then becomes necessary to explain in detail what would otherwise be a simple explanation.

EDIT: This in no way insinuates that the post I replied to is one of those that don't get short and sweet.

My Khajiit Thief, Ra'vash doesn't use shouts. It just doesn't fit his character.

Isn't it a bit weird that non-Nords can be Dragonborn ? I thought it (the Thu'um) was specifically a Nord ability as well.

On my current playthrough I haven't even activated the main quest. I'm sick of being the hero right now so now I'm RPing someone who isn't the dragonborn (or atleast isn't aware of it).

Damage shouts, no. They don't do much damage and it takes forever to regenerate.

Like a lot of people I didn't use shouts on my first couple of characters until I realized how effective some of them can be. It was when I was getting mauled by a saber cat on the side of a mountain and one more attack would have killed me. I suddenly pressed the button for Unrelenting force and the damn thing went flying off the side of the cliff with what appeared to be a "WTF?!?!" look on its face. Ever since then I've used that Shout on regular basis.

Yeah, for the most part I tend to forget I even have shouts. typically, I only refer to them when I'm pinned and need some breathing space or when I have no other line of defense. Other than that their pretty non-existent on all of my characters.

Slow time was very helpful on my mage, I always use become ethereal when I eventually find it and normally use fus at lower levels. There are many I have never even used.

I usually just forget to use them and end up using them in dragon fights only... when I remember

I use them. Usually only a couple on a particular character, something that complements their combat skills.

Well the shouts aren't there to look at so why shouldn't i use them.

I've shouted 1055 times according to the stats.

i only use mine in desperate moments , ice form , frost breath, and marked by death on really hard enemies .

when im wandering around and the night sky is cloudy or rainy i use clear skies depending on my mood .
sometimes a use storm call if theres allot of enemies all over the place .
i dont use dragon call i find the dragon's powers to be weak .
on occasions if i find myself fighting an enemy of a cliff or a tall ledge then i might use unrelenting force .

i think the major problem with shouts is that there really like spells except you have to wait ages until they recharge , which means you hardly use them half the time if your a mage. it might be different if your a warrior or assassin... im not sure .