How much easier does it become to pickpocket things if I don't unlock any of the pickpocket perks? There are several other skill trees I want to perk but I also want to become better at pickpocket. As it stands right now I get caught a lot. If I just keep raising my pickpocket skill without unlocking perks in that tree will it eventually get easier?

Might be a dumb question but I've never done a thief before and usually perk in the skills I am using.

The higher the skill the better your character is at said skill. You might want to invest a perk or 2 to make the pickpocketing easier though.

This http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Pickpocket has full details of how your chance is calculated.
Personally I'd go for 1 point of Light Fingers, Nightthief and Extra Pockets.
Only 3 perks, quite a bit better at pickpocketing and you can carry a lot more.

Yeah I would have to agree that you probably want to allocate a couple of perk points to make Pickpocketing easier. You can also rely on potions that buff that skill. Fortify Pickpocket can be made at an Alchemy station with a variety of ingredients or bought at some of the potion dealers.