My smithing is 100
My light armor skill is 100
My heavy armor skill is 33

The Dragonscale light armor I can make offers more protection than the Dragonplate heavy armor I can create. It's true for improved items also.

Dragonscale unimproved = 119
Dragonplate unimproved = 78

Dragonscale (legendary) = 385
Dragonplate (legendary) = 239

The only reason I can see would be my relative armor skills. I check the net, but couldn't find anything relavent. Does anyone know?

Thank you.

leveling your heavy armor should raise your armor rating higher with dragon plate and other heavy armors; also check your perks juggernaut for heavy and agile defender for light, smithing should only raise your armor rating by a flat amount per rating level ie unaltered>fine>superior>exquisit>flawless>epic>legendary. with both skills at 100 heavy will be more than light, you just need to level it up

same goes for every other skill, the higher it is the more effective it will be at its base.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armor The equation in the Armor Rating section is the number you see in your inventory, and its a combo of base armor value, improvements from smithing, armor skill, perks, etc.

Short Answer: Yes.

Semi Short Answer: The reason why Dragonscale armor has a higher armor rating than Dragonplate armor for your character is because his light armor skill is higher than his heavy armor skill (And you've possibly invested perks into light armor and not heavy armor). Anyhow, the armor rating shown for an item takes into account the skill level of the armor type (Including perks), the base armor rating of the specific piece, any enchantments you may have that increase your armor skill of the particular armor type, and the smithing bonuses you added to the particular armor piece when you upgraded it through smithing.

Ah, that makes sense.

So it's not that I'm making better light armor, it's that the number shown reflects how much protection I'm going to get out of it.

Awesome, thanks community.