I've seen claims here that your attack in werewolf (beast) form is affected by your skill level in One-handed. While I can see how this would be logical as werewolves use both hands to fight in a dual-wielding manner, I haven't seen any confirmation of this on UESP. The Prima guide states only that "For every swipe that connects, you inflict 20 points of damage on a foe", and includes a table that shows how that damage increases based on your level. But there's no mention of One-handed skill affecting the damage at all.

Similarly, folks have claimed werewolves in beast form benefit from a high Light Armor skill, but according to UESP, since 1.3.10 this is "no longer true", and werewolf form has 0 base armor.

So is it worth it to work up any skills specifically for werewolf form (particularly to enhance attack), or is it just the static increases indicated in the guidebook?

well i dont thing that your skills affect being a werewolf...although there is a bug where sometimes while you are a werewolf you may have equiped your previous one handed weapon and do similiar damage with that weapon but its rare.

Werewolves aren't truly dual wielding. Only the animation is. You will still swing with both hands even if you just press one of the attack buttons.

edit: At least, that's how it seems to me.

I don't think skill affects it, but not sure. Probably just player level. Some of the skill trees (I think heavy armor) get a buff to 'unhanded' attacks, but typically those only affect you when you have a gauntlet equipped; as a wolfman, you don't have anything equipped, so I don't think that comes into play.

Yeah, there is that perk you can choose in the heavy armor tree to do damage with your fists & gauntlets.

I've just seen several people comment that werewolf damage "uses" the 1-handed skill, but haven't seen any confirmation in official-sounding sources. So I wonder if the 1-handed connection is just an assumption.

Reason I ask is I plan to make a werewolf character at some point, and I want to know whether I should work on the 1-handed skill to keep the beast form more viable, or if it makes no difference so that I could use 2-handers while out of beast form.

There were occasional instances of "one handed" weapon skill increasing while fighting as a werewolf, but it's possible that those were the result of a glitch - there are a couple of them that involve items remaining 'wielded' when you transform.

At this point it does not seem that skill ranks have a direct effect on the werewolf form, although it's possible that certain perks do. AFAIK, the only one that has been confirmed is that the Sneak perk that allows you to walk over pressure plates without setting them off still works in your werewolf form.

You can attack with both hands individually (on PC, left click attacks with right claws, right click attacks with left claws). One of the right-handed power attacks is a right-left-right swipe combo, but you still have individual "weapons" as far as the engine is concerned... left handed (power) attacks and finishers are different from right-handed, and you can press both left and right attack buttons at the same time for even more power attacks and finishers.

I wonder, then, if dual-wielding perks like dual flurry affect the claw swipes...

I believe that they are also affected by the "Light Armor" skill. Apparently having fur is considered armor. Makes sense considering all it takes to kill a player werewolf is an arrow in the...um, uh....head, to kill you. Seriously, I can kill giants on Master, no problem, but as soon as a guard takes out his bow, I'm dead. But that's because I'm a heavy armor person.

Light Armor skill was reported to affect a werewolf's armor initially, but this was either a misunderstanding or changed by one of the early patches. You do count as unarmored though, which reminds me: the perks that increase the effect of armor spells if you are unarmored does apparently work in your werewolf form.

Oh, thanks for clearing that up. Although using spells and then transforming into a werewolf seems troublesome. Especially in a drawn-out confrontation...

Still, a beserkers rage, then transforming swipes everything of the map

Yeah, I must be referring to the right-left-right combo for right clicking/trigger buttons. Perhaps it is dual wielding then.

I'd be interested in this too. Was planning on training my Nord Warrior's Light Armor skill up to 100 by letting Giants beat on me while i wear Dragonscale Armor, and perking 5/5 Agile Defender to increase my survivability while in Werewolf Form. But i'm not even gonna bother with it if it doesn't actually work. My game isn't patched yet either.
I've heard the "Avoid Death" perk in Restoration works while in Werewolf Form.