So mages are weak huh.
What about a mage that is up close and is designed around the 2-handed perk and a staff, using things like Master of Sparks, Firebrand and whirlwind.
Or an Aero Equivalent, Staff beat downs and touch based spells??
Still not that great?
That's still not a spell-based "mage" (get it, mage as in someone who stands back and casts stuff?), but a melee one. Now go stand in the corner and be ashamed of yourself.
I know this seems to primarily be focused on elemental damage casters, but Summoners are stupidly strong. They can be stupidly boring too if you are trying to use them as a buffer, and their spell damage will generally be weaker too for a while since your goal is to rush Summoning to 10.
Summoners aren't even "stupidly strong". They start off very solid, but the damage and tankiness fall flat in mid- to lategame. When your Incarnate (with Summoning 12 + Infusions) does about 980 per swing, and your physical tank does about 1200+ per auto-attack with crap gear and almost no points in Warfare..you know something's off.
