You my good sir, are an inspiration to us all. I used to be a sneaky sneaky in Oblivion but I've decided to become a 'noble' warrior beast : P and in this the job description kinda forces me to run in guns blazing but i generally just let the game play itself out and spend on what i need at the time (btw the heavy armour tree is pretty useful!!)
I think you can still play through with some sense of nobility and have a high sneak. I don't play any kind of thief-oriented character but I have a high sneak. Strategically, it makes for a great time during dungeon exploration when every hostile living thing in a 2 mile radius isn't immediately in my face.