Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-11441888-20130716222028/@comment-99.243.88.60-20150204012308

Another thing to note is that Silence actually reduces (greatly), if not completely nullifies, any "noise" when wearing any Heavy Armor (personally tested with all Heavy Armor types (XBOX 360).

The only noticeable difference with the increasing weight for each heavy set is the easiness that enemies can detect you if any attacks are made: With daggers, you'll only be detected if the enemies are basically hugging each other; with other One-Handeds/Fists you'll be detected if the enemies are near one another, and with Two-Handeds, you'll probably be detected before even sneak-attacking. Other than attacks, detection is practically on par with Light Armor in terms of just sneaking around.