Need help with the tank jobs please.

[SargentToughie]

Bear in mind that this is all subject to change, as we're less than a half a year out from the new expansion. Paladin, in particular, has already been singled out as a job that is going to get an enormous power boost when that drops. That being said, there's no telling how exactly things are going to turn out, since we know nothing about what changes they intend on making. Also, to be frank, unless you're engaging in endgame raiding, it really doesn't matter which tank you play as any of the 3 will do the job just fine. If you like Paladin, don't let anybody give you any flak for playing it unless you're trying to bring it into... like... A12S, but that doesn't sound like that's the kind of content you'll be looking to do.

Paladin is the easiest of the 3 to play optimally while keeping hate, but it really falls behind in terms of individual damage and AoE, making things take a lot longer to die during your common dungeon runs. They technically get a bit more bulky than the other two thanks to their shield and their cooldown suite, but it's not actually a big enough gap to notice if you're playing the other two at a decent level. That plus Clemency being massively underwhelming, their shield not working at all on magic, and a lower potential threat generation, all makes Paladin popularly considered the weakest tank of the expansion. After Paladin, the skill ceiling raises quite a bit between Dark Knight and Warrior. Paladin simply has less tools to play with, and ways to help the team in meaningful ways in this expansion. Cover, Divine Veil, and Clemency are all nifty utility skills, but will very rarely make a difference compared to the higher offensive potential of the other 2 tanks.

With Dark, you'll often be juggling MP aggressively, though it does get easier at max level. It is extremely satisfying to crank out multiple Dark Arts- Abyssal Drain combos while you are doing an enormous pull under Blood Price. You deal excellent AoE damage, you heal up a massive chunk of health, and you generate enough threat to last you for years. Playing Dark at a high level can be a satisfying, rewarding experience. The problem with it is that if you make a mistake, it often takes a very long time to recover in the event that you run out of MP, and can no longer maintain Darkside. Dropping Darkside makes you significantly weaker both offensively as well as defensively, in certain situations. As long as you have a proper handle on the encounter, and how your tools interact with it, you will have defenses that rival that of Paladin, while pushing out an impressive amount of damage as well.

Finally, Warrior is the job that I played the most during my run as a tank. You are correct in your assessment that it hits like a DPS, that it is extremely popular, and regarded as the strongest tank of this expansion. Warrior's damage potential is the highest of all 3 tanks due to it's amazing suit of offensive abilities, revolving around Fell Cleave, Decimate, and Berserk. The popular conception is that they are the squishiest of the tanks, but this is absolutely not true at all, as long as the Warrior has a strong understanding of their abilities, and when to use them. When doing huge pulls, Vengeance, Bloodbath, and Berserk all synergize together gloriously, turning you into a walking fountain of heath regen while everything crumbles before you. Additionally, Warrior is the only tank of the 3 to come with it's own self provided slashing debuff (something that hopefully changes in 4.0), as well as benefits from having it's optimal DPS output come from it's enmity combo. This means that it's easier for Warrior to maintain hate on a boss while still dealing it's maximum possible damage output. Warrior, in my opinion, has the highest potential skill ceiling of the 3 tanks, but I'll admittedly be a bit biased as it was the one I preferred, when I was a tank player.

Again, all of this is subject to change within the next 6 months. Even if it was not, it does not matter which tank you pick, it'll be able to see you easily through any content in the game. I know it was a bit of a read, but hopefully this will help you make an informed decision about which tank to play. ^^