I have a pair of unenchanted boots, assorted gems filled with souls of questionable origin, and a burning desire to go unnoticed (because I get a 30x bonus to sneak attacks I'm shy)
I can either put Muffle on my boots, or a bonus to Sneak. Muffle's magnitude is always 100% when the player uses it, but the bonus to Sneak depends on the player's Enchant skill and perks.
Let's assume that I don't have access to any other sources of the Muffle effect, and I don't have any of the perks or powers that make your armor weigh nothing (Unhindered, Conditioning, the Steed Stone). Further, let's assume I don't have the dual enchantment perk, so "¿por qué no los dos?" doesn't apply yet.
In what circumstances would I be sneakier with Muffle-enchanted boots, and when would I be more muffled with a bonus to Sneak?
Best Answer
How Sneaking Works Internally in Skyrim
Internally, the game engine keeps track of a player's Stealth Points - you can think of this sort of like a regenerating health mechanic. Anytime an enemy has a chance to detect the player, the engine begins an ongoing series of opposed skill checks between the player Sneak skill and the enemy Detection Value. Any time the enemy wins, the player loses a certain amount of stealth points. When the player reaches zero stealth points, they are detected. Whenever the enemy loses, stealth points regenerate. When the player reaches full stealth points, the enemy is no longer aware of the player.
Detection Value
Detection Value is made up of:
(Starred items have range modifier. Greater distance reduces detection chance.)
Here's the relevant points for how the skill checks are made:
Sound is the sum of Movement Noise + Weapon Noise
Using daggers with a Muffle enchantment on your boots, Sound will be 0.
Player Sneak Level Bonus is Player Sneak skill - Enemy Sneak skill
Player Sneak Skill is modified by the total value of the all of the sneak modifiers available, and then compared to Enemy sneak skill.
It doesn't matter how much the player's Sneak skill is, only how much the player's Sneak exceeds the Enemy sneak. That is to say, a player with 100 Sneak will be detected by an enemy with 90 Sneak exactly as often as a player with 20 Sneak will be detected by an enemy with 10 Sneak, all else being equal.
Therefore, enchanting your boots with Fortify Sneak will increase your Sneak skill by however much your Enchanting bonuses provide, which might or might not matter depending on the skill of the enemies you're up against.
So just answer my question.
Fine.
Sources:
Bethesda Creation Kit: Detection
Bethesda Creation Kit: Stealth Points