I agree, I seen problems like this before
There needs to be a weapon level requirement and sword and shield requirement for PLD, along with the average.

There is another way to do this, and that i to have stat weighs.

weapon should be x10
pants and body should be x5
head and feet should be x3
belt and each slot on the right should be x1

It is also too easy to pad the right with higher levels to help gimp left to pass. Following a weigh system fixes all these issues.