I haven't played Oblivion or the other TES games, but, having played any number of sword and sorcery RP's I honestly am not a fan of the magic dynamics in SR. They're way too complicated, don't really serve purposes that we need them for, take far too long to implement, are non-customizable and, quite honestly, just a pain in the butt most of the time.
I realize there are people who just luv the whole magic thing, but, I guess I'm not one of them. While I enjoy some conjuration, alteration and restoration spells throughout the game (antornachs-dremora et al., transmute, healing) and even some illusion (frenzy/fury/calm/muffle), I don't use them very often.
I have desperately been trying to create a mage character, even going so far as to make her an Altmer (sorry, they just all look like Thalmor's to me and I hate the Thalmor), but am about to give up. I'll have her keep using magic, but I just can't deal with no combat.
Dagmar has been giving me excellent information and tips that I will try to implement, but she was right when she said, that Magic is not everybody's cup of tea and, if your not enjoying being a mage, don't struggle to do it just for the sake of doing it.
I have a feeling that my mage is going to end up much more along the line of a spell sword.