Oh nonono, you want to do as much as you can
KILL EVERY BLACKSMITH
Kill every firekeeper (except for 1 so you can still upgrade)
Farm any dragon scales you may want
Kill every NPC for their humanity/equipment/dialogue

Those are the key things to do.
These are also the things I always forget to do.

and for armor, just go with what you think looks cool. The only thing I try to do is avoid using too much gear from 1 set. Poise is secondary to looks for me.