» Thu May 31, 2012 3:26 am
If you are going for Dragonscale Armor (which looks samurai-ish to me, at least somewhat, although Orcish is probably a better look), you should still go up the Heavy Armor path on Smithing if you want access to the highest-end damage weapons in the game (Daedric and Ebony both out-damage Glass, and I have no idea where any of the Blades' weapons fit in this scheme). Only if you're looking at Light Armor options other than Dragonscale should you really go up the Light Armor side of Smithing (or I guess if you have a particular follower in mind that only wears light armor or something...).
Look into the Block Perks. Many of these perks work well with using a one-hander or two-hander and blocking (as long as you're not dual-wielding, in which case you can't block). Quick Reflexes (only really need 1 point in the base Block perk), Power Bash, Deadly Bash, and Disarming Bash all work without a shield. These give you other options, as having slow-mo go on while holding block lets you maneuver better against power-attacking enemies, lets you time your bashes better, and you do more damage with those bashes (especially if you power bash). Lastly, the possibility of disarming your opponent is kind of cool. What I like about these perks too is that it is already optimal to 'bash' an enemy power attack anyway (unless you just like moving out of the way, but you can't always do this and it's easier with Quick Reflexes anyway). Bashing an enemy power attack can interrupt the attack completely, and it staggers the opponent.
And I think taking Sneak up to the Archery 3x bonus is fine. Miyamoto Musashi was known in to ambush his opponents in at least one instance I can recall. That would literally only be 3 perks though, and I think that's an appropriate balance for a warrior that understands the value of surprise (but isn't sneaking everywhere all the time like it's the thing to do).
If you really, really have spare perks still, I don't see Alteration or Illusion as being schools that would ruin a Samurai concept, although Illusion may blur the line towards Ninja. Just a thought.