The Black Star is best as you can fill it with any Soul you want. (It is glitched so it can hold every single soul)

Black Star. Humans are everywhere. When was the last time you kill a mammoth?

I don't see that it matters. I took Azura's Star cause it doesn't matter. I have more black soul gems then I can use in a cabinet in my house....along with over 30 grand soul gems. I noticed2 things once I got to were I went to do the quest for the star.

1. I have and can get enough gold in a few minutes to buy a full grand soul gem from a vendor easier than going and filling one.

2. Since I usually enchant my gear in groups that one charge from the artifact is kinda silly. So I just buy 4-6 gands off vendors and enchant my gear and then recoup my gold in a few dungeon crawls.

Bottom line the artifact is rather pointless. Just dependson if your playing a RP style and if your playing a good or evil character. Otherwise just think of it as a neat trinket.

killed six yesterday I love fire ball ... wish i had more magical for thunder ...

If you're a conscious Dunmer, you might want to side with Azura.

I think personally i will take Azura's but thats beacuse i enjoy exploring and hunting so working to get the grand souls sounds more interesting to me that run in a random direction kill a bandit and wallah!

Draugr and Atronachs do have souls. I'm not sure if you can soul trap Atronachs you summon yourself, though.

Soul gems in general are available in huge quantitites. I routinely have to store half my unfilled gems just to make weight. Azura's star does not seem as useful as it was in oblivion. That said, I have taken the star both ways in two playthroughs and it made no difference to my playing style.

Azura's because 1) I get a follower that may well be the very best in the game, 2) both stars have diminishing returns later in the game when you have so much gold you can buy as many soul gems as you want. Personally, I have no problem keeping my magical weapons charged with Azura's Star and buying any Grands I need to make a new weapon.

Am a conscientious Dunmer, and I sided with Azura.

It will depend on how your attitude sits towards the fate of the humanoids. Though it is "only a computer game" how would you role play for stealing a soul from a conscious thinking creature. I had gone through a number of Necromancers threatening to kill me, use my soul to enhance a dagger and raise my body as a thrall. Well, they did not survive the initial arrow onslaught . I chose the option of only capturing souls of "animals". Usually only wolves or elk, so only petty or lesser souls. If I need a Grand Soul, I buy one ( hopefully from a PETA endorsed dealer).

I chose to side with the least evil option and chose Azura. I can not stand necromancers.

I'm not a Dunmer but I'll side with Azura any day. Mainly because Morrowind was my first ES game I played and Azura is the first Daedric Prince I got to know and she is one of my favorite.

They are equal.
Just pick the one you fancy more.
Also, Azura's Star is more fore good characters, and The Black Star is more for evil characters.

The Black Star is more useful in my opinion, seeing as all the souls it can capture are grand.

If the latest patch didn't fix the Black Star then it's still the Black Star.

If a "conscious [sic] thinking creature" chooses to attack me on sight then they are worse than an animal. Enchant up!

Azura's star, black soul gems become common later on, I'v filled up a few kettles with them

I make the claim that I am only borrowing the soul not stealing it. It gets released after it gets used (not tested but Im pretty sure). So consider that the person I killed was a bad guy, and this is his penance. The price he had to pay for the bad stuff he did is to inhabit my bow to do some good in the world, then get released to whatever afterlife he has coming.

edit: if someone wants to test this theory they could capture Ulfrics soul and then see if he shows up in Sovngarde.

for usage, black star, there are tons of humanoids enemnies -> grand soul

white star is for ppl wanna play good side, like me.

If you choose Azura's star, you get a follower. If not, you don't.

black star, without a shadow of a doubt