Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-124.185.0.131-20140607034023/@comment-29458028-20140622062235

Be a swag guy and do the following:

Get to a level where killing briarhearts is easy as heck (or temporarily set the difficulty to novice)

At the end, when everyone prepares to charge out, wait in the area, don't go out to Markath. You will get the armor of the old gods and your gear back. Madanach will still be there.

Kill Madanach (wear your gear first!!!!) and search his body for the requisite information and items.

Leave the passageway and all the Fosworn there will turn on you. Kill all of them! Thonar's guards will help. You can then get the Silver Blood ring and killing Thonar at this point is optional.

Profit! You have both the armor and the ring, nobody in Markath dies and nothing much happens. Disenchant the ring if you have not learnt fortify smithing, use the armor for whatever you want.

The perfect double cross...

P.S. If you have the secret servant power from the black book, you can pass your fave gear to you good ol' dremora butler and retrieve it later in prison. It helps alot in killing all the animaculi and crap that will block you.