Originally posted by Surtur
Looks damn good. The first thing I tend to do is get a mod that makes magic more potent in Skyrim.
I assume you're referring specifically to Destruction magic and not magic in general (as illusion, alteration, and conjuration are all very useful schools, imo) to which I'd agree that yes, it's pretty weak comparatively speaking especially when facing multiple opponents at once. As far as I know, destruction spells even when dual-casted always do the same amount of damage regardless of whether or not you get a sneak attack on your enemy.
My character has a bow, a war axe, and a dagger all of which are double-enchanted and they all outclass destruction spells in their respective rolls. With them, I usually one-shot or at most two-shot nearly all enemies my character faces even without using damage-enhancing potions because he also wears certain apparel that increases his damage with each of them. I believe the only way to increase damage w/destruction spells--besides dual-casting them--is to drink a potion beforehand. You can also slightly increase the dmg you do by increasing in skill level which also slightly reduces the mana-cost of spells (though you can make mana-cost of casting spells cost literally nothing if you have properly enchanted gear which my character does).