Well, basically I plan on throwing together an Arcane Archer type character pretty soon, & I've hit a few snags, where I just can't decide on a few things.
Namely, race & armor choice.

In regards to armor, I can't decide if light or heavy is the way to go. I do know if I go with heavy armor I'll use ebony. But, I can't decide whether glass or elven is the better choice if I went light, purely from an aesthetic stand-point, I don't really care about the statistical gap between the two.

The other thing though, is race. I'm sort of going by DnD rules, in that they have to be elf-blooded. That said, I'm trying to avoid Bosmer, as almost all my archers are Wood Elves, & no Orcs. I play too many Orsimer as is.
So do you lot think an Altmer, Dunmer, or Breton would be better suited to the Arcane Archer, again wholly from an aesthetic standpoint?

If you use Dunmer, you should use heavy armor. If you go with something else use light armor. Aesthetically I mean. I think either Dunmer in ebony or Altmer in Elven.

Breton!! Best race for anything!

You'll want high elf for the magicka and also the racial bonus. You really won't need heavy armor as you probably won't be fighting up close to often. I'd actually get the moreki mask and use the dark brotherhood armor for the rest. Unless your crafting your own of course.

For an Arcane Archer i would go Altmer (High Elf) due to there magical superiority. I would also be using Bound Bows, and illusion and alteration magics.

So

Altmer
Elven Armour
Conjuration, Illusion, Alteration

Light armor, Bow and Magic and you have a Witchhunter which is the same thing in this game also Dunmer Suits it pretty well.

Don't listen to the silly people above me! High Elves are evil and weak. They are too tall as well.

Breton character can cast bound bow selfcast with novice hood at level 4.

Race is truly a style choice in this game, since they really took out big strengths/weaknesses for the most part. Im suprized the race issue still comes up as often as it does.

I just don't think magic works well with archery. Maybe if you focus on conjuration otherwise it takes too long to switch from the bow to your magic. You'd be better off just firing a couple more shots at whatever's rushing you.

Destruction is far weaker than the bow so that's pointless also.

The general consensus seems to an Altmer in Elven? So, that's probably what I'll go with. And yeah, I'm def using bound bows, though I will probably carry around one or two high end enchanted bows as well.
As for magic? I'll likely actually stick with destruction, & conjuration. Conjuration for the bows, destruction for walls, glyphs, & the extra power that lets me enchant onto bow damage.
I'll probably dabble in all three crafting skills. And largely ignore sneak, as it's not quite as important for a combat archer.

@Udey: the race question here is largely a question of style.
@Skoomacat: I agree that Bretons are fantastic, my spelunking, alchemist, noncombat character is a Breton, & he's probably the one I have the most fun with, I am however heartbroken that you equate being tall with being evil, as I'm six foot four, I feel a kinship with the taller races, & see the Altmer as my lanky brethren.
@Trillid: You are totally right, that Dunmer look ace in Ebony armor, I have a grumpy Dunmer knight, & he cuts quite a dashing figure in his suit of it.
@Kenrich: I really hate the DB armor, Morikei I may get some use out of though. And yeah, destruction's less than amazing, but the walls, & glyphs can really help control the field.
@Sondil: I honestly probably won't use Illusion, or Alteration. I use Illusion on too many characters as is, & I'm trying to force my self to go without Illusion for once.
@Pondscum: Yeah, that's basically exactly how my Ashlander is built.

Nooooo.... no I didn't say that. Honestly I just think the male Altmer are too high. The females are just the right height.

Well, I'll forgive you Skoomacat. I like their height, I'm used to towering over everyone, so I feel right at home playing as a male Altmer. They also have really hawkish facial features, which once again, describes me. So, I like their look.

Honestly, the only thing I dislike about Bretons is how crazy short they are, I hate being eyes-to-nipbles with some Nord.

Alright, new question.

Which effects do you guys tend to prefer when enchanting your bows?

I prefer Fire, as it makes me think my arrows are fire arrows.

But for a Arcane Archer, Lightning arrows would make since, as its like you have a magical power running in your arrows that damages enemies. Get high enough enchant and do both on the same bow.