are there any gameplay habits you have that would be considered "cheating" or just an "improper" way to play Skyrim?

personally i always make all my followers and my horse essential lol. i don't care it makes the game much less challenging, i love Inigo and the KWF followers too much to risk them dying at any point, and before i started making them essential on every playthrough i'd had them die in major fights even though it shouldn't have been possible.