Here's a small exmaple of how DPS works in Skyrim. The DPS if smithed row shows how DPS will change if all weapons get the same smithing bonus damage of 100 (smithing gives a flat increase to damage instead of scaling to base damage)

    Weapon				Damage	Speed	DPS		DPS if smithed
    Deadric sword		14		1		14		114
    Deadric greatsword	24		0.7		16.8	86.8
    Deadric warhammer	27		0.6		16.2	76.2
    Deadric battleaxe	25		0.7		17.5	87.5
    Deadric dagger		11		1.3		14.3	144.3
				
As you can see, the weapons are more or less balanced without smithing, but with smithing speed wins over base damage every time. I'd recommend one-handed weapons unless you're not interested in smithing or not obsessed with having the biggest numbers.