While that sounds nice in theory in practice you rarely meet a “high level trader" in combat. Also the difficulty based on skill level just doesn't add up. Shielded units do tend to block a bit more often than unshielded one's but doesn't matter if I I fight a looter with pitchfork or a top tier two handed weapon welder, they won't block ever (maybe one in 10 hits will be blocked), they just keep on trying to attack even though they are locked into stagger from every player made attack which obviously will land quicker.Combat AI level is determined by the skill level the character has for their equipped weapon. At the beginning of EA it was only based on the character level - which meant that a high-level trader would fare just as well as a veteran warrior. Tournaments are currently a variable experience, because they draw participants from the garrison as well as present parties (alongside heroes in the settlement). We are considering to introduce dedicated tournament troops to facilitate a more steady challenge.
So the rare trader argument aside, and if the skill level bonus can't be adjusted further (as I said without a shield, troops rarely block regardless if the skill is 20 or 200) the combat was better when it was solely based on char level.