User blog comment:Zelron/The Thu'um (Waging War with Words)/@comment-4858067-20121106023515/@comment-3492791-20121107052932

Really there are a lot of shouts that seem like an unnecessary middle man that were only implemented for the purpose of adding more shouts without copying exactly for the spell list. Why would I want to get a bear to help me kill these bandits when I can just do it faster myself? Where am I supposed to even find a bear in a Draugr crypt? What really makes me laugh is the "All animals chill out" shout. Considering that the most dangerous thing it will work on is a troll, you will probably never need to use it when you can just easily kill whatever thing it is.

Become Ethereal, which I went over slightly below, actual has a few uses people don't think about. It is difficult to use in active combat, because it makes you unable to do anything without breaking the affect, and usually there are no single attacks that are that powerful to make it worth the use...and you'd probably not have the time to whip it out if it did happen anyway. The only real exception to this is dragons. Dragon breath attacks last for a while and will drain your health like an angry girlfriend drains your self confidence. This makes it good as the attack last long enough for you to actually use the ability, and the damage is actually worth the effort to avoid. However the loss of the ability to use Dragonrend really leaves the strategy debatable. But still there is nothing more satisfying to have a dragon use its super mega fiery death blast attack, only to notice you aren't actual there...then get subsequently stabbed in the face.

Outside of active combat however BE actually has many uses besides falling. It stops stamina depletion so you can sprint unlimitedly during the duration (I also hear there is a way to get unlimited magicka too). If you end up in a fight you are likely going to die in you an use it to run the hell away (with unlimited stamina). If you use conjuration spells you can summon two Daedra lords and just chill out completely invincible as they tear shit up (maybe even acting as a distraction to the enemy). (Little noticed fact apparently, but) when using BE you are actually given a Night Eye effect. And (while this is kind of a combat use) it can be used to get close to distant archers and mages without them taking pot shots at you the whole way. Also it's a big FU to traps and such.

Whirlwind Sprint became kind of useful when I noticed that it lets you fly. There are some areas in dungeons that are only accessible via WWS, albeit very small ledges with little to no loots. However it is good for closing the distance between fleeing enemies. Like this one time I raided Black-Briar Manor and the last guy was trying to run away, so I used WWS to catch him and I whooshed directly behind him and did a kill cam of me stabbing him in the back. It was one of the most awesome things to happen in the game because I like to imagine that I leveled my sword and just made this massive thrust over 30ft like some epic badass.

The utilitarian shouts, or at least all the ones not meant to do direct damage, seem fairly well balanced in terms of effectivness/time. The offencive shouts, such as Unrelenting Force and Fire Breath, seem more like an opening move you use right when you start a fight and then forget it's there for the rest of it...if the fight even last long enough for the thing to recharge.