Okay so here's the thing - you're not wrong that pickpocketing feels weak, but you're also kind of using it wrong. The skill itself isn't the point; it's a means to an end for specific builds and quests.
The big one nobody talks about: you need pickpocketing for the Thieves Guild questline, especially later on when you're doing jobs that require stealing specific items without being caught. If you're not doing that faction, yeah, it feels pointless. But if you are, those quests actually force you to use pickpocketing in ways that make the skill matter.
Beyond that, the real value is in what you're stealing, not the detection chance. Poisons off enemies, soul gems, lockpicks - stuff you'd otherwise buy. On a Switch playthrough where you can't mod, the detection is brutal, I get it. The perks help but they're not a magic fix. You basically need to spec into it hard (like, multiple ranks of the detection reduction perk) or it stays a pain.
Honestly though? If you're level 22 and already frustrated, you might just respec out of it. The skill has a high skill floor and the payoff isn't worth it unless you're specifically building around stealth theft or running Thieves Guild content. Sneak itself is way more useful for a sneaky character - that's where the real damage mitigation is.
