Spellmaking in Morrowind:GOTY for XBox?
 

So for some reason I just can't quite figure out how to put together spells that seem to work, ideally an Open spell that opens up to 100-level doors and locks.

I apologize if there are any existing threads on this, I didn't see any when I searched.

Wouldn't it be easier just to enchant an item?

Pay someone to do it for you. It will cost a arm and a leg but you can do that. Enchanting a item might be better because a spell might fail on you if you are not good in that school. So be sure to stay in school.