It also depends on the enemy as well, my Templar ran into a bit of trouble against a Harvester since my build sacrificed some dps for a more self-healing tanky set up. I spent like ten minutes going around in circles of dealing damage then retreating to heal while the Harvester did the same. I was eventually rescued by another player going through the delve that gave the needed oomph to my dps.

Yeah, some battles are definitely DPS races. Therein lies the trouble with hybrid builds in ESO - you always end up sacrificing one thing (DPS) for another (Tankiness).  My V16 sorcerer has a loadout for solo play and one for high level group dungeons.  With the group set-up, he's nothing more than a pure glass cannon, relying on the strength of our healer and tank. One wrong move, and he's down. But, he can achieve 32k on a critical Overload hit. 

You're right, of course, especially considering your single target set-up. Honestly, I don't think anyone should run with only one set of skills. That would be like a one-size-fits-all approach, which simply doesn't work in this game. My personal theory crafting for a Sorc is to always have at least one or two AOE skill(s) on my bar. Here's my set-up for general solo play:

Bar 1: Destro staff
1) Force Pulse
2) Crystal Frags
3) Blockade of Elements
4) Pulsar
5) Inner Light
U: Shooting Star

Bar 2: Dual Wield (increases spell damage)
1) Power Surge
2) Hardened Ward (sometimes I'll switch this for Boundless Storm)
3) Harness Magicka
4) Flex spot
5) Liquid Lightning
U: Energy Overload

I've never had any problems with this set-up

Excellent guide, Patriarch! Very helpful. I wish I had to have read something as straightforward as this when I first played ESO. It is really useful now as it has inspired me to keep pushing on -  I know now that I only need one more level to trigger the next stage in the MQ - the primary reason I have enjoyed the game as it feels the most like a TES experience than any other. And Abnur Tharn totally owns this game.

Indeed, the voice acting is so superb that it is hard not to want to pursue it. So whenever I finish a chapter of the main story I always feel a little disheartened as I know I have to face many hours of constant fetch quests to proceed to the real meat. Orsinium never felt like that, it got the balance perfect in my mind. But I stray off topic.

Apart from Queen Ayrenn, why would Old Mary be your pick as the best faction? What is it about them that faction which makes it feel more like a TES game to you?

Thanks for doing this Patriarch - I am going to digest it carefully

I'm already looking forward to the second and subsequent parts

Apart from Queen Ayrenn, why would Old Mary be your pick as the best faction? What is it about them that faction which makes it feel more like a TES game to you?

After reading this, I had to laugh because I forgot to add an emote in my parenthetical about everyone joining the AD. 

I do like the AD but not because it feels more TES. Ayrenn and Razum'Dar are amazing characters. I like the AD because the zones and story lines are so different from what I have experienced in a previous TES single player game.

I've read about Summerset, Valenwood, and Elseweyr, but never experienced anything close to the beauty of these zones. Castles in Daggerfall? Medieval theme has been done to death. Been there done that. Mushroom towers, ash, Riften, and Eastmarch? I did that in Morrowind, Skyrim, and Solstheim. Summerset archipelago? Brand new. Grahtwood forests? Brand new. Moon temples of the Khajiit. Brand new

I've read about the Mane and its importance to Khajiit culture, but I've never actually been part of choosing one. I've read or heard about the Maormer, but never went face-to-face with their storm magic. I've read about the Spinners, but never became part of someone else's story, thus changing their lives in the past from the present.

TL;DR: The AD contains all the elements I've read about but never experienced for myself. I will say, however, that the Brothers of Strife story in the EP was pretty cool.

Oh, and for the record, the Khajiit are absolute badasses in this game.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. I hope to make this a weekly series. 

This also leads into the interesting issue of soloing ESO in regards to builds and roles. If you've got no one to take the heat off, is there any point in investing in sword and board skills? I've personally found soloing a bit restrictive in terms of what becomes are viable builds and skills since straying too far from a traditional dps build becomes a bit redundant without other to heal/tank for.

S&B still has plenty of use solo - you've got the armour boost/defense reduction from Puncture (and its morphs), area damage from one of the Low Slash morphs and Defensive Posture. Defensive Posture is an amazing solo ability - I used to kill mage-type world bosses by just reflecting all of their powerful attacks right back at them. Never really used the last 2 abilities but I'm sure they are useful too.

Ponty raised some great points. For a stamina build, s&b provides excellent damage abilities. In PvP, my magicka templar actually uses a sword and shield on the back-buff and utility- bar. I don't use the skills, but it puts me in turtle mode when I need to buff and heal. It gives me another armor piece for crafting a special set like magnus or julianos and another enchantment. I dropped my resto staff when I found that I was relying almost exclusively on templar heals. My dps and survivability made a noticable increase.