User blog comment:Sgt. S.S./Are dragons possibly too much of a challenge?/@comment-30303790-20120228235717

Leveling up definately helps. For most any sandbox game (even Saints Row) I make it a point to level up as much as possible before starting the main campaign. This means you'll easily be a force worthy of fear by the time the proverbial shit hits the fan. Now unless you Oghma yourself into being a demi-god, it's pretty hard/impossible to reach the highest level and not grind for hours, but if you explore and work on side quests its very easy to level up a few particular skills enough to be proficient without any real grinding.

You also need better weapons. During all that exploring, make sure you wipe dungeons clean of anything you can make a buck on. You'll earn some cash and even some xp from speech, and you can then buy better gear and smithing equipment. That's the one thing I suggest you do grind, because if you can smith a set of Legendary Daedric badassery it doesn't matter if you're 5 or 6 levels behind your enemy.