OMG, I think your right! I've been wondering why we have been able to have intelligent reasonable discourse on this, but why we can't find any middle ground. If we were climbing Mount Everest together, you would be trying to get to the top as best as you can, while I would be exploring every cave on the way up. I'm of the philosophy that the nature of a character should determine their class/job/stats, not the other way around.
A good example is my current character. He follows the philosophy of the Life-giving Sword & the Life-taking Sword. As such, when he's a Gladiator, he doesn't use shields. They are a cowardly piece of equipment to him. That character idiosyncrasy means that he'll always take more damage than a Gladiator that uses a shield. But that is his signature style of swordsmanship. It's that character's playstyle. I enjoy being able to create and choose my character's playstyle.
But, everyone is different. If all men liked the same thing we'd all be married to the same woman. Anyway, I think we have an understanding now. I'll stay subscribed to the thread, because it's a good read and I'd like to see how you progress in finalizing the system, but I'll try not to trouble you with any more antagonizing questions.