Yeah i totally agree, I really enjoy the hunter's bow and even the long bow from time to time, the grungdier the better (falmor and forsworn bows) My personal favorite bow/arrow combo is an Ebony Bow (Frost Enchanted) with Dwarven arrows. Probably for both the look and feel.
If I may chime in? My favorite bow/arrow combination is Auriel's Bow with Bloodcursed arrows. The effect it gives you when shooting at the sun, never ceases to amaze me. Blotting out the sun really adds the sort of griddyness that I enjoy. A second favorite of mine is Zephr. This bow is so fas, especially with the Quick Shot perk and the Ranger perk. You become a speedy Legolas type archer, that can send projectiles at the speed of light. As far as arrows with Zephr, I usually go with Daedric or Dragonbone arrows to deal the most damage.
The hunting bow is probably my favorite. I use the mod Simple Bows though, that retextures the elven and glass bows to look like the hunting bow with a color variation.
I wish they would add yew bows, because those actually look good. Instead what we get is something that looks like a hickory plank :P (the longbow)
I kind of feel the need to clear up a misunderstanding when it comes to animal intestines and bow strings. What you are referring to is probably "cat-gut" or cattle-gut as bow strings. The thing is, those strings are for violin-bows, not archery. What have been used as bow-strings for archery is: Linen, Hemp, Silk, nettle, (animal) Tendons, rawhide, Tendons isnt very realistic in Skyrim since it dissolves in humidity. Nettle would probably be the most realistic in skyrim.