Note: Mild spoilers on this page.

9. The Most Powerful Shouts

  • Storm Call
    I’ll be honest, I went the first 50-or-so hours of Skyrim without ever feeling compelled to use the Shouts. Ohhh, this one shoots a weak-ass fireball. And this one makes me a ghost, or something. No thanks! That was, until I was given the ability to blacken the skies and summon my own personal lightning storm. Whether you’re fighting dragons or a clearing out a bandit camp, Storm Call should be your go-to Shout. Let it rip before heading in to any outdoor battle and you’ll thin the herd with a quickness.The only problem is that this storm does not discriminate between enemies and friendlies, meaning it will quickly down or even kill your allies if you’re not careful. Unless your friends are all Storm Atronachs, then you’re good.
  • Call Dragon
    You knew it was going to happen, right? Towards the end of the main questline, you’ll earn the respect of your very own dragon buddy, who will come to your aid whenever you call for him. Generally speaking this is more for spectacle, as he’ll spend most of his time flying around rather than doing anything useful, but if you want to send a dragon to the frontlines and watch the chaos from afar, now you can.
  • Ice Form
    Not as impressive as summoning a storm or a freaking dragon, but this Shout will literally freeze most enemies (including Giants) in their tracks for a decent amount of time. You can either make a run for it, or get in a few free attacks before they recuperate.

All Shout and Words of Power locations can be found here.

Additionally, if you speak with Arngeir at High Hrothgar, you can as him if he’s located any new words. A random location and objective will be added to your map/journal. Keep in mind that if you choose to carry out the will of The Blades (you’ll know it when they give you the ultimatum), the Greybeards will no longer assist you.

There are also a couple of Shouts/Powers that summon temporary warrior companions, but I found these to be surprisingly weak. Then again, I do more damage to my companions than enemies do by spamming Chain Lightning… If you’re all about rolling deep though, master summoners can hypothetically have a companion, a summoned companion or dragon, a permanent Atronach, a dog, a horse, and up to three Blades or quest-specific NPCs, all at the same time. Until one of them takes an arrow to the knee, which apparently happens fairly often in Skyrim.