You can always go to the Bannered Mare in Whiterun and fight Uthegerd the Unbroken and get her as a follower. She's pretty decent 2h warrior, wears a set of Steel Plated Armor and she's not hard to pick up....ummm what I mean, She's not hard to get as a follower. Just challenge her to a fight and win, which is easy. That's it.
Be warned she's uglier than the backside of a monkey.
Yup! And ugh, I hate it when Marcurio does that! My goody two shoes archer wood elf got in trouble with the guards more than my evil thief! [emoji32]Uthgerd is good...very good. Benor in Morthal is good too, though his armor isn't as good. If you don't mind doing a rather long Dwemer ruin first, there's Mjoll in Riften. She likes the sound of her own voice, but she's a beast in battle. She's also essential, so you don't have to worry about killing her accidentally.
Be careful with Marcurio. He uses chain lightning, and will get you into fights with the guards at times.