I don't undrstand why people think the atronach stone absorbing summons is a bug, it works exactly as it was intended. It sucks that it does this, but it's not a bug. Anyhoo, I quite enjoy builds like this that have a clear sense of progression and/or purpose and I could certainly see myself playing this type of character. A big thumbs up for also using one of the most underrated early armour sets in the armour of the old gods!

I like it, JR! It's similar enough, as you say, that I wouldn't play this and my Bargainer back to back, but the RP is different and Archery makes a major difference. The focus on getting all the Daedric quests done is a nice touch. Definitely earned my +1!

The fact that you can absorb more mana than the spell would cost you, by several times, demonstrates that it pretty clearly isn't working as intended. You absorb the base cost of the spell, regardless of what the spell would cost you to cast. That's pretty clearly broken.

This. Aisde from that, if Spell Absorption wasn't intended to absorb summons, then why would Bretons be the most summoning-oriented of all the races (start with +10 Conjuration and Conjure Familiar) yet also be the only one with an innate Spell Absorption option? Or why would Spell Absorption absorb all sorts of helpful things that shouldn't be absorbed (like Shadow Warrior's effect, or quest-related spells), yet absorbing summons is the one that actually isn't a glitch? Why, if it it was intended, would Bethesda not make a mention of it anywhere in the game? The least they could've done was put a blurb about in on one of the loading screens.

These questions, to me, seem to indicate that summoning with spell absorption is a glitch and is not working as intended.

Beth has a nasty habit of adding features to games without really thinking through the full consequences. This is particularly true in Skyrim, I feel, although it's not the only culprit. I suspect it's because they have such large dev teams that not everyone talks to each other, so every elegant solution they come up with has a chance to break all of their previous elegant solutions.

If you play on PC, the unofficial patches go a long way to fixing these (and the unofficial patch does fix spell absorption).

Sadly, I don't play on PC. That being said, I find that with 50% or less Spell Absorption, the bug is merely an inconvience. At most, I just have to cast the spell three or four times, but since I'm absorbing the Magicka right back anyway, it's hardly an issue.

I loved getting all of those artifacts. Leveled me up surprisingly fast on Master, and added a lot to the role-play. Plus I needed the Oblivion Walker achievement for PC haha. 

Thanks for the kind words 

Bound weapons are pretty common, but I don't think the Ebony Blade is as common. I had a hard time finding melee-heavy builds that use it when I built my Bargainer. In any case, I think this is one of the stronger Daedric builds.