Personally I view it in effects. Sword and Board = Defence, while 2-H = Attack. I rotate between sword and board to drive down their stamina and then switch to 2-h for the ass beating. When I need to regen stam, out comes the board. Your right people are wary of attacking the shield because of how strong it is right now. And I usually start and end with magic when they decided to run in or away.

What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?