OK - So I am ready to craft my own good armor....

Mages get me, so I would like to defend against them as much as possible. What - exactly - will a resist magic enchantment provide - f there is such a thing... and while I'm thinking about it - what does the resist magic potion provide? You've got resist frost, fire, shock.... and magic.... So I would like the best defense against mages...

Thanks for any pointers!

Magic resistance is overall all magical effects of all elements.
A resist 25% Magic enchantment will protect 25% against fire, frost and shock, while a Resist Fire enchantment will only help against fire.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Resist_Magic

How strong the % is will depend on your enchanting skill and soul gem.

Thanks - I actually did a search AFTER I created the topic.... Sorry - dopey me!

I appreciate the reply!!

Now maybe I'll be able to tackle mages better - do potion effects stack , so it I take a bunch the resistance would increase?

As far as I know potions doesn't stack.

Resist elemental will stack with resist magic, up to something like 80% or 85% for each. If you want full resistance, you can get up to the elemental cap quite easily, then stack resist magic on top of it. You just have equipment for each element in your inventory and put it on when you know what your enemy is using. In the shops you can find elemental resist necklaces of 70%, that is just one item and you are almost at the cap. Then you can use e.g. the Lord stone or a ring of magic resistance. However if you get too much, ancient dragon breath hardly affects you and you become overpowered. So don't worry too much about it is my advice.