So i was in Ralthbar (or something like it) deep market and i wake up a centurion.
I am level a 15 mage (on master) and after the first three or four tries i realize i cannot kill it in a fair fight.
So i put on the dwarven water breathing helmet i found earlier on in the dungeon, spam firebolts, hide in the water while waiting for mana to recharge and then finish it off.
All the other times it just froze me to death while i was running away.

My first centurion on a mage character was surprisingly easy, possibly because of the room we fought in. It had conveniently built stairs, so I could send a Flame Atronach to tank while I was zapping the centurion with Sparks (or was it Lightning Bolt?). Before the machine could reach me, I already summoned another atronach, rinse an repeat.

The first Centurion I met surprised me. I was in a Falmer cave and I came across my first dwemer door and I thought "cool should be some good stuff in there. I go in and see a falmer across this large room I go to sneak arrow shoot it and then this big ass robot comes out the shadows and one shots me . Needless to say when i reloaded infront off the door I turned around and went home.

Sounds like Shimmermist Cave - also my first encounter with a Centurion as well as the Falmer... I was level 9... it took me at least 2 hours due to the Falmer and especially all the Chaurus kicking my ass, and then that damn Centurion..

I walked back out of the big room the Centurion & boss Falmer were in until the Centurion hit the top of the doorway and couldn't walk through it, so he would just try to hit me with his steam crap while I hid behind a little wall waiting to cast low-level spells and shoot whatever arrows+poison I had at him. lol Insane.

I don't remember the name of the place, but I do remember playing ring around the rosies... down the stairs...around the base...back up the stairs... turn blast with shout, hit with one fire ball from staf ..RUN...rinse and repeat! took about 1/2 an hr....once I figured it out, about an hour of dieing before hand.

Genious..........I was a low lvl like you on my first playthrough then so I didnt think of that.

My first one was that one you fight in the main quest, on that landing with another one which is dead (thank god!) It felt so epic, the landing being a circle made it like an arena, and I felt like David after he killed Goliath!

I was probably around lvl 25 (or higher) when I met my first Centurion, after a few tries of trying to get in real sneakily and failing, I figured out I could easily outmaneuver it and hack away at the back of its legs, but Uthgerd got herself killed. I had to backtrack upon reloading and had her stay well out of site of the battle.

that isnt frost its boiling hot steam that centurion boiled you like a lobster.

That was mine too. But for whatever reason, it never attacked me if I was right underneath it.

i met my first one in a hallway in bthardumz it just stumbled out from around a corner down the hall turned towards me and tried to boil me alive with its steam breath attack. it was a hellish fight with many reloads and tactics changes but i eventually beat the big metal jerk.

Haven't been in any Dwemer ruins with my main in a good while, but I definitely had more trouble with my first Sphere than the Centurion. I couldn't destroy it at all. Came close a couple of times, in very long hide-and-shoot battles. I forgot what item/info I had to get, but I finally got to the point of doing nothing but running. After a reload, I loaded up my follower with all the loot I wanted to keep and sent her away. Then I entered the room and FUS RO DAH to get it off-balance, ran around till I found what I was looking for, then ran for my life while it chased me through several rooms. Panicked and took a wrong turn, but was able to FUS RO DAH again and haul ass out of that ruin.

I found it easy. I just marked it for death 5 times. Took 3 hits =)

First one I met was during the quest for the scroll. There is this flick you switch to open the gate which has a Centurion inside the compound (the one with steam attacks). Basically I sneaked up to him, saw him starting to move, then hauled ass, went back to the switch and closed the gate, locking him inside the compound. I was in within visual range of him, but he couldn't attack me. Then I just used my bow and arrow. Wasn't the first attempt though!

Definitely quite cool because you end up thinking about your surroundings and how to use it!

My first encounter glitched out and would not attack me so I just beat it to death with a pick ax

The first one I met was in some ruin that led to blackreach. I don't remember the place but to the right of the centurion a sphere comes out to attack also. I couldn't do anything agaisnt him as he 1 shotted me. First I placed the sphere between me and the centurion, and I barely managed to kill the sphere by running forward and backward hitting it. Now I place a pillar in the room between me and the centurion running back and forth around the pillar hitting it until it dies... I killed the dragon at skyborn altar the same way. Very cheap.

The steam attack is fire damage btw.

Centurions are pretty damn annoying for Mages due to their resistance to Magic and immunity to Frost. And you can't even poison them with arrows to make them more susceptible. :/

Wait, Centurions are immune to Frost? One of the books in the game mentions using Frost to kill the steam power that drives them.

According to the official guide, all Dwemer automotons are immune to frost (and poison).

I was surprised it did so much damage in my first fight.

Does that happen to be Ruins of Kemel-ze? I havn't read that in over a year real life time but I seem to remember that specific part...

The most easiest Centurion you encounter is most likely the one during the Clloege of Winterhold guild questline where you have to get information on the staff of Magnus.

That Centurion sits in a room and you can simply open and close the doors between attacks as he seems to be unable to do that himself, hilarious.

i was in the companians when i was sent to a cave, the end of the cave had a falmer and a steam centurion, i was killed within seconds of waking it to finally kill the falmer i jsut sneak attacked it and ran through the ruin, the big centurion could not follow us