One of the things I really like is self-imposed 'specialization within skills'. For example, Buffy blends bow with magic - and both are extremely time intensive endeavors to develop and maintain. It comes with a price that we enjoy roleplaying:
She is perhaps Cyrodiil's finest long range sniper, but this focus has prevented her from mastering the ability to do the archer dance of shooting while moving or shooting quickly. Without magic, she would lose in a medium range bow battle against most bandit archers.
Illusion is her arcane tool of survival and she is a Kud-Ei level illusionist. She has even incorporated the destruction ability of drain speed into where it should be - an illusionist's skill to bring a foe's mind to a stop - mentally immobilizing them.
Her secondary magic skill is restoration and she is darn good with it. Because she is an empathic healer (thanks to her paladin), she can only heal by laying on of hands. For an elf who likes to maintain her distance, this can be troublesome (and dangerous).
Conjuration developed very oddly for her. She's a whiz at summoning mundane bound items (handkerchiefs, towels, repair hammers, hunting knife, etc) but could never summon a set of armor. With critters, she can summon the weak ones - even using a continuous bond of magic that allows them to stay until dismissed or her magic is cursed. But she cannot summon something mightly like a Daedroth or Frostie - not even for a few seconds.
In Buffy's view, destruction exists only for a few things: To weaken her foes to poison, weaken them to magic, start campfires, cooking, lighting torches or chilling an ale for a friend. Her offensive use of the destructive elements can barely kill a mud crab.
She's pretty good with alteration. Her Tinkerbell-like fascination with utility magic makes this school a natural for opening locks, helping her mare cross water, etc.
She makes superb poisons, but her ability to craft potions is so poor that she buys those from more skilled alchemists. She also doesn't carry fragile alchemy gear with her, relying on MG facilities or tipping a non-guild alchemist to use their equipment. That's fine for her though. Since she uses magic for everything except direct damage (bow), the only potions she needs are a few to dispel the effect if her precious magic is cursed by a foe (dispel the 'silence' effect).
Gosh, I'm chatty this morning!