I'm at a point where I want to play my main (but not maxed out) character, but also dabble in some others. If you went all the way to 80, did you find quests were good and available still?

Would imposing my own cap at say, 50 or 60 mean there is more to do with the next character that was missed before?
What did you do?

Quests will remain available throughout the game, even at level 81 or higher (if you use unlock mods) but it does depend entirely on how fast you go through everything. If you rush from city to city and do everything there is to do in that city, then you'll be out of options soon, if you take your time. Do a quest ride there, explore things on the way level a bit then you'll have plenty of things to do after reaching that level.

I play until I no longer enjoy the character's play through. As such, my characters will generally reach a level somewhere between 20-50, although in many cases I'll pick them up after a few weeks/months and continue playing.

I've been playing Skyrim since it came out, Steam shows I've played over 180 hours and only a few days ago did I unlock an achievement for reaching level 25. Usually game becomes boringly easy after around lvl 15 (especially if I'm playing a thief), so I just start over.

If you want to play multiple characters, it's a good idea to make every one of them different: specialize in different skills, join appropriate guilds. This way every playthrough will feel fresh and interesting, and you'll always have something new to discover. For example, my archer joined only the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood - she lives in Riften and rarely visits western holds.. My spellsword did the Imperial Legion questline and the Companions. My wizard joined only the College of WInterhold and operates mainly in the northern holds, he never started the MQ.

Don't try to do every quest and max out every skill with one character. If you do, what's left for the next one? You'll have no choice but to do the same quests all over again - wouldn't that be boring?

There's no point in imposing an artificial cap of level this or that. Choose your skills, use them often and when they're maxed out there's your level cap. If you're a pure mage, there's absolutely no point in training two-handed or pickpocket, so just don't do that.

Around 20.

Usually around lvl 40 I kinda taper off and start thinking about another character.
My characters rarely do more than a single faction (except for sneakers, I usually do TG and then move on to DB).
I play them until their story is finished, I always have a single character (usually the first) who is the "hero" and just does the main quest and directly related plotlines.

I'm currently actively playing 2 out of a stable of 5.
My Dragonborn and my vampire assassin.

Dragonborn nord is level 45, doing mq and civil war, vamp is catching up quick though, lvl 32 now, just finished thieves guild and is now standing outside the DB sanctuary waiting to start.

I always make a few characters because I am ocd about justifying a characters actions and motivations but I still want to experience everything the game has to offer.
So my superheroic paladin type destined to save the world from dragons is just not going to be stealing candlesticks for a bunch of rabble living in a sewer pipe.
But my vampire assassin who is selfish, devious and materialistic couldn't give a skeevers backside about the crisis or the war or "saving the world"... it's just an opportunity to make moar coin.

one character i played till 78, now hes waitin for DLC, and the rest to about 60 usually, then its just like ...."meh"

i usually get to like level 45 and get bored and delete it and start again as another race and build

My first character went to level 44, then I grew tired of her and had new character ideas I wanted to try. She did Companions, MQ and TG and still has plenty of side quests in her journal, so maybe I let her come back from her vacation some day.

Right now I have two active characters, my main at lvl 27 (doing MQ, CW as Stormcloak and Companions) and the other at lvl 5-7 somewhere(doing MQ but very slowly, CW as Imperial and College of Winterhold). I doubt any of them will make it beyond lvl 40, maybe not even so far.

Levelling isn't that important to me. It's nice when the level gets a bit higher, since that means better weapons, armor and enemies, but for me, the most important is the character, to fulfill his/her goals and questlines, and when that is done, I prefer to make a new character instead of keep on grinding someone who seems very happy just sitting at home, hanging out with her husband for a while

For me 1st character I got to level 50. Then I stoped playing as him because I got bored. I ran out of things to do. So I'm playing as my 2nd character who is level 38. I'm planing on playing as her entill I feel like creating a 3rd character. Maybe I will stop at level 50 like my 1st character.

Also. Why is there no spell check on these forums?

I have three characters all of which I still alternate between, although I am currently sort of chasing books with Braggen. Aussie was better at getting books till a glitch terminated her prospects.

Braggen level 74
My first character Braggen is an Imperial over achiever who likes to do and obtain everything, he is currently languishing on level 74 struggling with the levelling up system and Conjuration, he will make it to the final level eventually. Currently recovering from having fun with Shadowmere, Keening, a dragon and flying.

Aussie level 59
My second character Aussie is a Skyim Nord, started mainly to see how the other side of some things went, and get the Oblivion Walker achievement I stuffed up the first time, like my first character she has apparently fought all the civil war battles but is still struggling to get it completed. Joined most factions but is not interested in dragons, the Dark Brotherhood or chasing quests. An explorer at heart is she, she wants to have fun. Being chased all over Skyrim by dragons is not something she thinks is fun, so Alduin is probably going to be waiting a long time. Since she is currently a werewolf and has Hircine's ring some fun being a werewolf for a while is on the agenda. Aussie has made it to level 59 and still has no idea what she wants to be.

Rork the Orc level 12
My third character was only recently started and is Rork the Orc, not too smart, he went up to High Hrothgar with no health potions at level 10, but he got there eventually. Took a detour along the way to collect a magic pickaxe and do a bit of mining before dropping in for a bit of rooftop exploration of High Hrothgar. Eventually the Dragonborn decided to pay the Greybeards a visit, his excuse for the delay was he could not find the front door. RorK has managed to purchase Breezehome and reach level 12. Next up he is after trying to get a free horse or two doing a bit of brawling. He is just a poor Orc, buying one seems beyond his means, but he is too honest yet to steal one. But he does want a horse! if he gets desperate there is no telling what he might do, he is getting sick of walking.

5 characters:

Wood Elf 39
Wood Elf 32
Nord 18
Breton 16

...and my newest addition, Dark Elf, 7.

I just fancied playing the game differently with multiple characters, yet now I want to further my highest wood elf again she's still my favourite

I normally stop around level 25/35 as I make characters for different purposes. A Mage will only do the Mages Guild, A Thief will only do the Thieves Guild and my Dragonborn will only do the MQ. As a result I have not even been to every city yet and I got the game on the day of release. I means that my characters are short, maybe 35/40 hours or so but each new playthough I discover something new. Like last night was the first I went to Markarth.

I have one at level 45 and one at level 38, then I just started a new one. Seems by level 35, I start thinking about doing something different.

First guy, Redguard fightter/paladin level 52 (to be continued)
Second guy, Breton mage level 31 and counting.

Even though you're really not seeing most of the game. That is a really cool way to play the game. Are you going to create an assassin character for the Dark Brotherhood next?

1 Redguard Scout lvl 34
2 Breton battlemage lvl 41
3 Bosmer assassin lvl 61
4 Nord sorceress lvl 36
5 Imperial Mage lvl 41

I'm getting to see most of the game, albeit it's taken me longer than most. I learnt this from playing FO3. I do one playthough where I do everything with one character and it ends up a 200+ save but then all the magic is gone. I don't see the point doing everything with one character then creating a thief and just doing thieves guild missions. For me that's boring as there is no surprise, I know the outcome. This is my 4th character I've played with since 11.11.11 and I have not even explored 50% of the game or map. So I'll be finding new quests, people, weapons and locations after a year of buying the game. Same for Oblivion, I got that the same time as FO3 and done about 70% of the game. Not even done the MQ or Shivering Isles.

And Yeah I have been thinking about an Assassin character for some time. I like the Idea of Conjuration and Archery. I'll train on a bow till I can afford to use Bound Bow and use that is my primary weapon with duel daggers as backup. I'm interested to see where the DB goes.

I have nine well developed characters. When I'm in the level 40's I start working towards that character's end-game, but also decide what content to leave should I want to bring them out again. My warrior, pure mage, spellsword, battlemage, and rogue have passed that stage and still have meaningful stuff to do in vanilla when Dawnguard drops. My archer & dual-wielder have stalled in the 20's as I just created them for the playstyle and not the roleplay, and my vampire (who is also in the 20's) is awaiting Dawnguard. I'm currently having a ton of fun rp'ing Jordis the Swordmaiden, and at level 39 with her.

I like to roleplay with my characters - an example is Sadri and Viola Giordano - I won't go into spoilers, but I've done that favour every which way depending on race and disposition, and some of my characters haven't even set foot in Sadri's Used Wares. It's the little things like that, that define your character and bring them to life. So my advice would be to leave stuff for other characters.

Until around level 45 since I limit my skill to 6, these 6 are sort of my "major skill", so my cap is around level 45.

I find that after Level 50, I'm ready for a new character. I like the early levels and it's fun to make a new face and try some new skills and go off in a new direction. I found this quote to be true for me.

Todd Howard: While most players will max out the game at level 50, Skyrim has a "mathematical" level cap "probably somewhere in the 70s"

Most games around level 40. Lowest was about 35, highest about 46. Once my main skills are at level 100 and I'd need to start using secondaries to advance it's time to re-roll.

I do the same thing, sometimes I fit in secondary skill though but just one, for example I add alchemy to my mage character.

I get into the 20s and start wanting something different. I have created 6 different characters. It seems to me that what I find with different characters varies slightly. Maybe moreso between female and male. BUT before I took more than the first one beyound Bleak Falls Barrow I downloaded 1.6 so I thought that might have accounted for differences. and of course I know what to expect in places that the first character went so I myself tend to vary my actions somewhat.