Perl, 702 613 546 474 439 338 bytes

Perhaps still long compared to others.
Using an 2D array might not have been the best tactic to achieve minimal code. But hey, I tried. :)

@m=split(',',pop);$x=$y=$a=$b=99;map{($d,$s)=/^(.)(.+)$/;for(1..$s){$c=$x;$C=$y;if($x<$a){$a=$x}if($x>$A){$A=$x}if($y<$b){$b=$y}if($y>$B){$B=$y}if($d eq"W"){$r="<";$x--}if($d eq"E"){$r=">";$x++}if($d eq"N"){$r="^";$y--}if($d eq"S"){$r=v;$y++}$q[$c][$C]=$r}}@m;$q[$c][$C]=X;for$y($b..$B){for$x($a..$A){$t=$q[$x][$y];print$t?$t:$"}print$/}

Test

$ perl piratemap_golf.pl E4,N3,W6,S10,W1,S1,E5,N1,W2,N6,E6,N5,W10,S1,E2
v<<<<<<<<<<
>Xv<<<<<< ^
  v     ^ ^
  v     ^ ^
  v >>>>^ ^
  v >>>>>>^
  v ^
  v ^
  v ^
  v ^
  v ^
 v< ^<<
 >>>>>^