I'm doing the first Companions quest and got a den of falmer and chaurus. The falmer and chaurus are a lot tougher than what I've run into so far. It is hard to believe they are leveled.

I left the cave and did a few other quests, which were much easier. I came back after gaining a level. It was a little better but is still really hard and I'm dying a lot.

Why are the falmer and chaurus so much tougher than the bandits I'm encountering?

The devs most likely designed them to be. Because they are blind they are easy to sneak up on an instant kill if you have max sneak. They are very strong to counter balance this.

To keep the game interesting. There's things in Skyrim that are supposed to be hard to kill until you get to much higher levels. It's part of the fun.

I play permanent level 1 and a Chaurus is about the hardest to kill for me (besides a few of the boss characters) ...

Falmer and Chaurus are tougher than bandits, in general. The Chaurus are especially deadly with their poison. You just got a tough dungeon to start out with; normally I get sent to some bandit lair or to go intimidate some random npc.

Falmer and Chaurus remain some of the tougher enemies to fight at higher levels as well, as their poison isn't affected by your armor or magic resistance. You also fight them in very dark dungeons, where they can sneak up on you.

That makes sense. I had no problem with falmer with my sneak archer.

They are hard in general.I had more problems fighting Falmer+Chaurus than fighting Draugr Deathlords or Elder/Ancient Dragons.
Falmer+Chaurus=Dead

The Falmer also use poison tipped weapons, so some resist poison enchanted gear or potions would help.

I had to intimidate some old lady as my unarmed fighter. killed her in one punch. oops...

It's probably the poison. I always go in with my Ancient Shrouded Armor.

I specced into Raid for the Charus and the Loud Music perk (5/5) for the Falmer.
Seriously though, they're just tough. I was having the same problem until I recruited a follower, learned to hide behind a walking glacier and other pro Dragonborn tactics.
I can just picture the heroic songs they will sing in my honor.

Chaurus are just a pain in the ass. Never had a problem with Falmer though. I usually go sword and board, and use magic/bow/dual wield sometimes.

Shimmermist Cave? I once got that as my first job for the Companions. After several tries and painful, frustrating deaths (more than one of which was caused by Lydia blocking my path while I was being eaten by those damn bugs), I reloaded a save from before I ever walked into Jorrvaskr. Went on with other stuff and then went back and did the Companions quests at a somewhat higher level, but you know they've never sent me to Shimmermist Cave again. I still shudder involuntarily when I hear the name though.

I am at the very end of the Gallows Rock quest with Aela now and I swear if I could kill her I would. I have had to run all the way back to the beginning of the dungeon half a dozen times to avoid getting set on by Silver Hand in groups of two and three because she takes a knee after about 1.2 seconds of fighting. Would not have made it this far without using Nord Battle Cry once and a Conjure Storm Atronach scroll I happened to have on me.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that you should do the Companions stuff early on because temporary followers like Aela and Farkas are usually locked into such a low level from having run into them outside Whiterun the first time you go there. The ONE TIME I tried that, I got that dang Falmer and Chaurus infested cave as an introductory job so I always end up holding off a while, and then get penalized for it by having a pushy twit like Aela who is also relatively useless for the Gallows Rock quest.

Most of the complaints in that regard seem to be about Farkas on Proving Honor, but you know, he and I made a great team. I ended up using a shield and just keeping Flames equipped in my right hand for a whole lot of that dungeon, most of the draugr woke up when my magic flamethrower hit them full in the face while I was standing off at an angle from them, before they could even stand up Farkas would step in and cut them down with one or two quick strikes. It does get a little hairy in the final chamber, but we always manage it and usually on the first try. Currently on my SIXTH try with Aela in Gallows Rock. All she does is blow my cover then take a knee which leaves me running for my life from 3-4 enemies.

I'll let you in on a little secret, though... you know that gate made up of metal spikes at the very beginning of the dungeon that you lower by pulling a chain? There's one on the inside of it is as well, which presumably will also raise and lower it. However the enemies in there won't use it. So my general strategy has been to run all the way back to the beginning with Silver Hand in tow, sprint my butt up the last set of stairs and rush around to pull the chain on my side of the gate. The spikes go up, the Silver Hand can't get through, they won't lower the gate from their side, they just stand there taunting me and trying to bash their way through with their weapons. While I pepper them with arrows from safety until they are dead. There's quite a pile forming on those steps now.

Interesting fact, the only enemy in the game that level is scaled to the player is the guards. Everything else is static. Source Prima Strategy guide for skyrim.

The lowest level Falmer is level 10, and they have high health and magicka, so when your a low level its best to avoid them or try to fight them alone. Sneaking is a great way to kill them just dont wear heavy boots as while blind, they can still hear. Use fire also, as I've found fire seems to deal extra damage on them. Also you may wanna step the difficulty down a bit if their REALLY hard to kill.

Low level tanks and mages will and do struggle with these guys. I know I did! Fighting them resulted in one of my first butt-whoopings, as I simply couldn't take the damage.

The first Companions quest involves Falmer and Chaurus?

Its Radiant meaning it can be any of different quest templates at different locations.

Might I reccomend adding a healthy dose of FUS RO DAH to your combat plan? That's how I learned how to deal with the tough but staggerable enemies, like Giants.

Even my level 60 daedric-wearing warrior has learned to respect chaurus reapers and falmer shadowmasters. In large groups, they can be dangerous even on adept difficulty.

- I made a special pair of deadric boots with muffle on them just for falmer caves.

That's a great tactic, however it's impossible to use if you've chosen to delay starting the MQ.

They may not be level scaled but higher level enemies will appear at higher levels. a draugr is always a draugr but there are draugr death overlords etc that will replace them. and falmer and chaurus are no different.

Stealth does have an easy time making falmer kills, tanks and mages get the hurt, probably especially mages, since falmer blind archers are accurate and they dont have tank hp.

This was all said above, they are tough. If you are a mage- might i suggest muffle? They wont be able to hear you if you use that.

I'm happy they made them so tough. Because of them I have a love hate relationship with Dwemer ruins and charus dens. I don't *really* want to go in because I know the battles are guaranteed to be intense... but I *really* want to go in because I know the battles are guaranteed to be intense.

Falmer are my favorite enemies to fight... can't say the same about the charus. But they are always together like peanut butter and jelly.

I had to stop reading after the first paragraph. That's chock-full of spoilers.

shimmermist cave, i hate that place (and it will always be the job you get offered if you talk to one of the leaders first [forgot which]). i went there as a simple warrior wanting to know if the werewolf rumours were true. apparently the companions knew that and sent me to die painfully in a cave filled with the strongest beasties i could actually find at that level