WAR Stats, Cross-Class Skills, and Gear - Am I Doing It Right?

[Purrfectstorm]

Pre-2.1

Full STR (supposedly better eHP due to Bloodbath, Inner Beast, and Second Wind)

Flash (to get hate when TP is low or when Pacified)
Second Wind (admittedly minor self-healing)
Internal Release (more damage translates into more self-healing and faster kills)
Convalescence (self-explanatory)
Provoke (Admittedly I rarely use this but it does allow for longer pulls)

BiS (couldn't find a lot of info on this so I mostly based it on prioritizing Acc. then Parry)

Weapon: Relic +1 pre-Turn 5, Allagan after
Helm: Allagan
Body: Warrior's Cuirass
Hands: Warrior's Gauntlets
Waist: Allagan Plate Belt
Legs: Warrior's Breeches
Feet: Warrior's Jackboots
Ear: Allagan Earrings of Fending
Neck: Allagan Choker of Fending
Wrist: Allagan Bracelet of Fending
Ring1: Allagan Ring of Fending
Ring2: Hero's Ring of Fending

Now I don't even know if my pre-2.1 premises are right for sure but this is what I've been thinking post-2.1:

Full VIT (Inner Beast heals for 1/3, Internal Release adds less damage, something like the 30% damage reduction of Vengeance makes every HP added worth 1.3 HP so you're getting even more bang for your buck, and STR is not really needed as much for enmity)

Flash (Still a big fan of this - not very useful on most bosses admittedly)
Convalescence (Also still feels like a no brainer to me)

BUT

Internal Release (effectiveness cut in 1/2, which along with Inner Beast's decreased healing makes it seem less appealing)
Second Wind (was a rather small heal even w/ a full STR build but maybe it's good enough)
Provoke (Which aside from long pulls, Succubi for example, I almost NEVER have need of)

So I'm contemplating things like Featherfoot (how useful would it really be considering that WAR are not really the evasive type... if nearly every attack is still going to hit me, it's not worth it)

Haymaker (I've seen people talking about this a bit but again, how often will I really evade? If I take both skills together, will it do anything?)

Awareness (Should result in less damage which is good but I feel as though it's very difficult to notice a difference. Of course the same thing can be said about Second Wind.)

Mantra (5% doesn't seem like much but I feel like when you apply the affect to everyone, it could certainly be pretty good, especially if it is replacing skills that I rarely use, like Provoke)

And, lastly, gear:

How has the addition of CT/Ultima/Extreme Primals/PvP gear changed WAR BiS? I've only done Coil Turn 1 a few times and never cleared it but I've been playing since release. Assume, for the sake of argument, that I have infinite Philosophy/Myth Tomes (and therefore will have full access to crafted and/or Myth gear prior to doing Coil). What gear would I then start looking to replace, if any? Mostly I just want to know what to work for.

Also, what kind of food is a good baseline for Coil up to and including T5 and what food would be top of the line?

My goal is to progress further but I'm not in a rush and prefer to be as geared as possible before taking on the next challenge to acquire even better gear so waiting a few weeks to get full Myth or to farm an Extreme Primal drop would not be a big deal to me. So I would be super grateful for any advice I could get on what the best Pre and Post-Coil set up would look like for WAR: Stats, Skills, and Gear.