So I recently tried to get through a playthrough as a sneaky dunmer assassin/thief. I couldn't do it. I don't really enjoy being the bad guy in video games, as lame as that sounds. So I wanted to do another playthrough to kind of make up for this last one. I decided to do a playthrough as a Nord hero, someone who is really made for the prophecy of the Dragonborn. Just a few notes.

He'll be the type of Nord/Viking badass you hear about in stories. He'll revel in battle and he'll revel in drinking (basically buying 10 or 11 nord meads every night and sleeping at an inn as though he had a day of adventuring, and then came and got drunk and passed out in the inn). He'll also be a hero, almost always doing the right thing.

His main skills are going to be: Heavy Armor, Two-Handed, Smithing, Enchantment. I may work on sneaking and archery later on, but he's going to be a tank, not a sneaky guy. I'm also going to completely perk the heavy armor and two-handed trees. He will be a weaponmaster with large weapons.

I'm going to rely entirely on potions I buy or find to keep in fighting shape during those rough fights. I'll also make use of followers, but my rule will be no reloading if they die unless it's a game glitch. War is dangerous.

Like most nords, he does not trust magic. To that end, I won't use any except for the shouts. They are the legacy of the Dragonborn, and his birthright to use them.

Lastly, in the mission after Kodlak Whitemane dies and the Skyforge heats up, you're allowed to make "Draugr" category armor. This includes ancient nord hero armor. This is something he will make and smith up to the cap so as to armor the ancient nord heroes whose footsteps he now follows in.

Ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

Definitely do archery, don't have to perk it much, but you'll want it for dragons and stuff. Plus a weapon master ought to be able to shoot a bow.

As far as actual play, seems like Stormcloak should be on your to do list, however an honorable Nord warrior would join the Stormcloaks but not fight the war until Alduin is defeated. So do the MQ before advancing the Civil war too far so you can do the peace summit.

Other then that, good luck finding good guy or heroic quests to do after the CW and MQ because they're few and far between.

I like it, it's very close to the way I play. I'm a little less hard-core than you and use restoration plus alchemy, but if you were a little more careful, you shouldn't need it.