turn out quite differently than what you ended up playing? I envisioned playing a pure mage. I normally shun melee roles in (MMO)RPGs. However, at level 40 these are my top five highest stats:

Light Armor 87
Alchemy 80
Conjuration 79
Speech 77
One-handed 69

I don't know how I went down this trail exactly, but I'm pretty sure it started when I noticed I took less damage wearing light armor than flimsy mage robes early on. It sort of bloomed from there.

That's more a conjurer to me.

Once I decide what I want to be (before I make a new character) I choose my race, gender, skills I will use, and stick to it.

My expectation was to play a stealthy fighter, maybe with a smattering of magic. By the time I left my first dungeon I was playing a pure mage, something I've never done in a CRPG. I retired that character in the low forties with a 100 in Destruction, Restoration and Alteration in the 70s, and Alchemy not far behind.

nah. I wanted a warrior, he stayed a warrior. Never do any magic stuff-ever.

stay true to the hack n slash.
i wanted a true nord so i got one.
it is nice that u can evolve ur character on the go, but you need plan your perks or it can be dissapointing if that extra perk to finish your fav skill ended up in speech or lockpick because you though all skill and perks maybe even or nesseresary.

i went for:
three main skills:(almost all perks)
1 handed100(axe perks, no paralyse perk)
block100(all but slow time)
light armour100(no matching set perk) stick with fur/steel ect
secondary skills: (some perks)
smithing80 (light armour n magic smithing)
archery80 (power up perks, some aim n slow perks)
extra skills: (no perks)
sneak60
lockpick60
speech60
retirment skill:(i saved 5/6 perks for this jff)
enchanting60(will have two in enchant then the rest up the middle to get too double enchant perk)

I envisioned my first character to be a Nord Warrior, pure heavy armor axe wielder, and he was. Smashed skulls and decapitated elves all the way to level 50 with him.

I wasn't planning to use Conjuration at all. Now I'm at level 19 with a Conjuration skill of 70, thanks to the Bound Sword.

I stuck with the ones I thought I would: Archery, One-handed, Light Armor, Sneak, Alchemy.

I started my character to be an archer, but am now slowly adding one-handed to make him more of an Assassin-type character.

I expected to be a spellsword or battlemage. And that's what I am.

'course, as of right now I'm using skills I normally wouldn't, such as Light Armor and 2-Handed, because my preferred skills aren't going to help me level up much more now that I'm at 51.