This is why it is hard to role play as a dedicated mage in Skyrim, especially considering destruction spells are the only magic type that cause direct damage in the game. Once you start using physical weapons like bows or swords, you’re not really a traditional mage anymore and are more of a hybrid class of sorts.

The robes intended for mage style gameplay also do nothing to absorb damage, even if they buff magic in various ways, so expect to get one shotted a lot if you go that route. I suppose they probably intended you to use ward spells to try and absorb and deflect incoming attacks.