Yeah, I get this. The stealth archer thing isn't even a meme at this point - it's just what the game's balance pushes you toward, and by playthrough three you're basically speedrunning to boredom.
Here's the thing though: you don't need to gimp yourself, but you do need to actually commit to a different playstyle instead of treating it like a challenge run. The reason you keep drifting back to the bow is because sneaking trivializes everything, so you're not feeling pressure to engage with anything else.
Two things that actually felt different for me: pure destruction mage and a heavy armor tank build.
For the mage, the trick is picking a school and going deep instead of spreading yourself thin. I did a frost-focused playthrough where I grabbed the perk that staggers enemies with frost spells, then built around that - Augmented Frost, the perk that reduces casting cost when you land hits, etc. You're not standing still getting murdered because you're controlling the battlefield. Enemies are frozen, staggered, being pushed around. It feels completely different from "stand in shadows and one-shot." The early game sucks, ngl, but by like level 25 you're actually scary.
For the tank, heavy armor plus a one-handed weapon and shield, and you just... tank. Get the perks that reduce damage taken, grab Conditioning early, invest in blocking. You're not trying to avoid fights - you're walking into them. Feels almost like a different game.
The real difference is you have to actually use your skills instead of just relying on the stealth damage multiplier to carry you. That's what makes it feel fresh, not the playstyle itself.
