Okay, so I got bored with my previous characters and decided to give unarmed a try. I've just started, but it's a lot of fun so far. Khajiit, obviously. Shield + fist bashing, Warrior Stone.

Skills I'm using:
Block--I'll probably get every perk in this tree. Maybe not Quick reflexes.
Heavy Armor
Smithing
Enchanting-- not too much yet
Conjuration-- for Soul trap
Restoration-- Switch from my attacking hand to Healing or Fast Healing, so that I can block during incoming attacks and heal while the opponent recovers.

Anyone got any tips or experiences? I know there's some special equipment somewhere, but I'm not sure if it will jive with the Heavy Armor tree(matching set).

there is only one equipment you need to know about-glove of the pugilist. It's found on Gian the Fist, out in the Riften Ratway. Just take it and disenchant it. If I were you, I'd use enchanting, and possibly the exploit everyone keeps talking about with alchemy or something to get unarmed to a decent rank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBiNx749Zw

NSFW due to language and extreme hilarious violence.

Get Quick Reflexes if you decide to keep using the shield. Being able to interrupt an enemy power attack with a shield bash will probably save your life more than a few times. BTW, the absolute maximum damage you can do unarmed with daedric gauntlets and the Fists of Steel perk is around 60 something. In the best of circumstances, you will need to punch an end-game dragon at least 50+ times to kill it. Be prepared to reload saved games frequently, as you are getting ready to die a LOT... assuming you are playing on a difficulty above Novice level.

Having said that, I wish you the best of luck -- please be careful out there.
-Loth

Edit: That youtube link in the post above mine is hilarious. I think I'll name my next character "Badass"...

I'll mess around with Enchanting more, but I'm not looking for any loops. I mean, I'm going unarmed because I wanted a bit more of a challenge. I'm going to be pretty legit with this.

And I don't know why the thought of disenchanting the gloves didn't cross my mind. Duh. Thanks.

That is outstanding.

Unarmed attacks benefit from quite a few 1h perks, the dual wield attack speed perks, +50% power damage etc. Also the fists of steel perk only adds the base value of the gauntlets.

I've been trying this a bit, while I wait for the next patch, and I don't think there is an unarmed death blow animation when killing a dragon. That's a shame.

i HOPE bETH PATCHES THAT

That's without the Khajiit bonus though, right?

I wasn't sure if the dual-wield stuff would work, but I'm still digging the shield for now. Is that right about the Fists of Steel? Because that's miserable, if so.

If it's not an uppercut or Superman Punch, it's a waste.

Edit: Or a headbutt, that would be cool.

Awesome post! I have been wandering about this myself!

One bump before I let this thing die...

Anyone else have useful info? Probably not, it seems about tapped out.

BTW, that 60 something damage I mentioned before is WITH the Khajiit bonus... you are in for a rough ride! LOL

But please have fun with it... did you watch that video that someone linked to earlier? THAT guy was having a blast...
-Loth

Well you can get to that level pretty early on, if you don't exploit smithing daedric swords (legendary) will do 72 damage with the armsman x5 perk. So doing 62 damage with fists isn't bad.

Fists also punch 15% faster, so with that +35% attack rate from the 1h perks you will have a very fast attack rate. The kill animations are pretty sick also ha.