User blog comment:Jimeee/Skryim DLC Details Leaked in 1.5.26 Update Files - The Snow Prince!?/@comment-203.122.251.113-20120430090614/@comment-1726879-20120430091346

I didn't know that crossbows in dwemer ruins had idle, horizontal, vertical and running animantions...

It's probably going to be actual crossbows, and if so, they'll work oppositely to bows, in that it is instant firing, but requires reloads after shooting. It'll also probably have more power, at the cost of a longer reload. In other words, it's the warhammer of the ranged weapons.