Just to first say i have played thousands of hours on this game and probably played most styles, however today i saw character that i hadnt noticed before but seen thousands of times previously, the character is Ma'jhad a guard of Mad'rans khajiit caravan, i never really took any notice before but i suddenly noticed he was wearing clothes but carried a greatsword, so i thought about it for a while to work out how to do a build based on clothes and two handed, and would like some advice to see if this is possible, , i just cant seem to work it out for defence really,,, input and advice would be cool guys, , pweees
I didn't have time to read what others said, so sorry if this has already been covered.
But one word will solve your problem: Alteration. With the right perks and the final master spell Dragonhide, you will resist 80% of damage when just wearing clothes (which is also the max for actual armor). This is what I used for my mage and any characters wearing clothes.
So, it is not a stupid build. It is different and interesting, and completely possible.
In case you don't know, here is some tips on increasing alteration and helping you in the meantime. Get the alteration spell Oakflesh and always cast it in battle. This will provide you with a little armor rating and also help raise your skill. Once you hit skill 25, you can upgrade it to Stoneflesh which will provide you a higher armor rating than Oakflesh. Once again, do the same thing. Finally, once you hit 50 in Alteration, buy the Telekinesis spell, and you will hit 100 in no time. Just go somewhere and make things float, it is actually quite entertaining, being able to throw things onto roofs of buildings, into the sky, etc. It will help if you can enchant some items decreasing the magika needed to use alteration spells (enchanting four pieces of apparel, which a high enough enchanting skill, you can get 0 cost for it and it will be unlimited).
The reason why you need to reach 100 is so you can get the master spell, Dragonhide, the one that will resist 80% of damage. Another plus of reaching 100 is you get the other master spell Mass Paralysis, which paralyzes nearly anyone in the game. You're in a cave with tons of draugr after you? Just paralyze all of them and wack away at them with your two handed weapon. Mission accomplished.
As far as perks go for this: Obviously, make sure you get all of the perks related to armor that will increase the duration of the spell. If you are a vampire, you can get the perk Necromage (from Restoration skill tree), which increases spell effects and durations among the undead. Since you are considered that, the spell will be affected. With all of these perks, the spell Dragonhide will end up lasting a few minutes, especially when dual cast. AND YES this can be dual casted, it is only one of two master spells that can be dual casted (so make sure you get the dual casting perk). You won't see the animation change, but you will see your magika used up more.
Anyhow, that is the route I would go. Really, that will be your best option with the armor if you will wear only clothes.