Insight on most fun tank?

[RopeDrink]

PLD seems to scratch that soloist itch. Also I tend to lean on jobs that have clutch abilities and utilities that I don't have to rely on healing too much.

DRK has the cool factor going for it and TBN for the safety net.

WAR is fine. It's the easy to pick up tank.

GNB is the new flashy job that feels like a DPS, but I can't get over the whole blade-over-shoulder animation/stance.

I (personally) don't consider Paladin as the go-to solo itch scratcher. In fact, I find them to be the squisher of the bunch - and have a much more stringent damage rotation that is at risk of being ruined if you're in a position where you need to heal. That is assuming that using a Heal breaks your combo. Alas, I haven't played Paladin all that much since Shadowbringers compared to the others, so I'm a bit outdated. The fact that PLD can heal others makes it more suitable for supporting groups (in my eyes), even if it's a perfectly fine solo-heal ability with a more direct punch. It's similar to Prot Paladin's in WoW. Yes, their self-heal is a big part of their defensive kit, but the real appeal is that it can be used on other targets, not just themselves, and usually comes at some expense. In their case, it's the use of Holy Power. In FFXIV, I assume it still breaks damage-combos and eats mana that you'd want to pump into the Reqi damage phase.

By comparison, your basic bread-and-butter tri-combo as GNB not only applies a defensive buff, but also heals you, and it also has a large rota defensives - some on very short CD's that can also be shot at other players, including the HoT. In short, you can self-sustain without risk to your rota. The only downside is that your secondary 1-2-3 does not apply Brutal Shell.

Warriors, similarly, have a default self-heal just by going through the motions, not to mention potent self-heals (direct + via AoE), and a massive healthbar increase, on top of all their other defensives. Last I checked, DK had some passive self-healing, but not nearly as much. Alas, it's my lowest level tank right now, so I won't comment on them overmuch.

GNB is my go-to for group and solo because, while it isn't an in-your-face support like old or new Paladin, you still have passive self-healing, group utility, and a marginally engaging damage system. I don't keep my finger on the pulse of meta and can only go by hearsay, but I recall hearing at some point that they're currently the tank with the highest DPS potential to boot. When it comes to solo'ing content, that's not to be sniffed at.