Yep, you're on the right track. Pale Order is really nice for solo builds, and 2 bars in the next step in complexity and improvement.

Typically the back bar is used for longer duration buffs and damage over time abilities. This is mainly due to weapon traits, and wanting to minimize the time spend and casts on back bar. Front bar gets the best traits for instant damage, like Precise/Nirnhoned or sometimes Charged or Sharpened. Back bar should be an Infused trait weapon with a Berserker (aka weapon damage glyph). This alone gives more weapon and spell damage than the Major Courage you'd lose from Oakensoul. Ground DoTs like Blockade of Fire, Endless Hail, and Stampede will activate this enchant on cooldown, even if you are on the front bar.

Just using one ground DoT on back bar is a good starting point, preferably Blockade or Hail, and the Maelstrom Inferno staff is the best beginner option IMO. It lasts 15s, doesn't have any delay or ramp-up, does good single target and area damage, and has a large size. On a stamblade it should be a nearly free cast if you're not using magicka for much else.

For most overworld encounters you can just cast one blockade at the start, then go to front bar until the fight is over. For harder bosses you should try to refresh it close to every 15s. If you're new to bar swapping in combat it's ideally:

Light Attack > Front Bar Skill > Bar Swap > Light Attack > Hail/Blockade > Bar Swap

The bar swaps don't take delay any skills if you time it correctly, right after casting the ability.

As you get more comfortable with it, consider adding skills like Leeching Strikes and Twisting Path to the back bar.

Gear looks fine for now. Sets like Order's Wrath might be a small upgrade. Then there are the harder to get meta sets for long boss fights, like Advancing Yokeda, Pillar of Nirn, or Kinras Wrath, but I wouldn't worry about those yet. Trial sets are also great, but the Minor Slayer buff they being only works in dungeons, trials and arenas.

You talked about your rotation but did not mention light attack animation canceling. That is a huge difference in DPS. Weave LAs in between Skills. Cancel LA with Skills.

You cant bar swap with Oaken Soul, but you can skill cancel or block cancel.

Thanks for the amazing responses everyone, especially WrathOfInnos and Zodiarkslayer! As further context, thanks for being patient and not judgy. I started pretty casual and this is my basic understanding, this is all about taking it to the next level. I’m only a NB because I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started and it was the best build I could make! Should prob have gone with something easier!

In response to some questions asked:

• I’m on PC but play with a controller. Think swapping is as simple as a button press
• I haven’t really managed to get weaving/animation canceling down. Any advice on doing that with a controller?
• I use the Lover Mundus, I gather its a pretty close thing between that and the Thief.
• That last empty slot was a random necklace as I didn’t know what else to put there

Loads for me to mull over here! So the notes I’ve got suggest my path ought to be:

• Ring of the Pale Order and Slimecraw (Head or Shoulder)
• Order’s Wrath (Crafted) instead of Hunding’s Rage, Divines rather than nirnhoned

I’ll focus on those for now, and get my front bar to look something like:

• DoT: Trap Beast > Barbed Trap (Fighters)
• DoT: Path of Darkness > Twisting Path (Shadow)
• Spammable: Flurry > Bloodthirst (DW)
• AoE: Whirlwind > Whirling Blades (DW)
• Execute: Assassin’s Blade > Killers Blade (Assassination)
• Ultimate: Death Stroke > Soul Harvest (Assasination)

After that, work on a back bar, using either Thundering Volley (Bow, Maelstrom), Frenzied Momentum (2-H, Vateshran) or Crushing Wall (Staff, Maelstrom). Some combo of:

• DoT: Volley > Endless Hail (Bow)
• DoT: Critical Charge > Stampede (2-H)
• DoT: Wall of Elements > Blockade (Destruction)
• DoT: Caltrops > Razor Caltrops (Assault)
• Buff: Siphoning Strikes > Leeching Strikes (Siphoning)
• Buff: Grim Focus > Merciless Resolve (Assassination)
• Debuff: Mark Target > Reapers Mark (Assasination)