The sling and sickle are, surprise surprise, useless. I personally go for improved armor and shield 90% of the time, but I can see how the sword is useful for newer players as the mace is not exactly newbie-friendly who cannot properly judge distance. I'd also give this class a default, short spear and get rid of that spear perk and replace it with something more useful, perhaps a better one-handed weapon that doesn't require me to trade my body armor for it.