I use weapons more often than I use magic. I prefer to be up close and personal with my enemies, it's more fun.

I prefer magic. Its versatility is very handy, even if you like getting up close and personal. Ebonyflesh, Bound Sword, or Bound Axe, and any cloak spell is a great combo for those who still want to smash some heads. And then there are those spells for people who like to play midrange or long range. Spells like Fireball and Ice Rune are great for midrange, and spells like Lightning Bolt and Bound Bow work wonders at long range. I almost forgot about spells for people who prefer not to fight, like Paralyze, Summon Storm Atronach, Invisibility, and Repel Undead.

(More to be added later)

I would take magic any day. I'm a pure mage, and have rarely had trouble with any enemies. Conjuration Magic is great for distractions, like Dremora Lord and Storm/Fire/Ice Thralls. I tend not to use Bound Weapons only to fill an empty soul gem or something. But I mostly use Destruction spells. Walls and Runes are really good for sneaky playthroughs. Normal attack spells are great too, but what makes Destruction really amazing is the three effects for the three types.

Additional effects (happens when enemies are on low health):

• Fire - Enemies flee
• Shock - Enemies disintegrate
• Ice - Enemies are paralyzed

I love Thunderbolt, as the damage it deals if fairly high, with 75 base damage and 90 with perks, and that, like Lightning Bolt, the electricity instantly hits its target (without the delay that Fire and Ice spells are victim to), with no distance limit or drop, which is the drawback to normal and Bound Bows (no pun intended).

Alteration is cool with Waterbreathing, Ebony Flesh, etc. It really helps soak up damage, and travel a littler deeper.

Illusion is great for stealth, or just a quick escape. It works wonders with Followers, with spells like Courage.

Restoration, of course, is great for heals and repelling the undead. But, if you have to Dawnguard DLC you can have spells that do damage to undead only (sounds terrible, but it does more damage to undead than a normal spell would do).

Conjuration is bae, It supports most of my game. I use bound weapons, summons, the Ritual Stone, and raise zombie for the main of my game. It's easy to put a Daedra up front, and sit back with raise zombie to add to your troops. I use a frost and flame atronach as my permenent thralls, and they do a grat job keeping things off me. If push come't to shove, frenzy spells, sneak, and bound bow come into play. Sadly, it doesn't work well against bosses that don't use minions, like dragons.