I dual wield. It's an up close all in your face kind of style all right, but I compensate for the lesser defense by moving and jumping a lot, and by dealing A LOT of damage in a short time. Even if an enemy does manage to corner me and keep me from moving away, he (or she) usually goes down before I do.
To keep myself going without the need for constant healing potions, I have a few dots in life leech (which is a good combo with a high-end damage dealing capacity). I thought about regeneration, but the slow healing rate made me choose the healing skill instead. It requires activation and has a mana cost, but it heals much faster than regeneration. You really only need one dot.
When it comes to enchantments, I prefer the level 9 ones to level 10. The level 9 ones are much weaker, true, but I don't have to worry about using up an irreplaceable malachite gem and then finding a slightly better sword around the corner. As it is, I can swap enchantments and equipment at my leisure.
People say that I will find the perfect weapon set one day, and give it a level 10 enchantment. But I don't know. Maybe I'm not ready for that level of commitment.
