I'm sorry. I only skimmed so forgive me if you addressed this.

My idea is that you unlock Paladin on Gladiator.
Perhaps it is DOW only (fair enough), if you use it with Gladiator (Sword/Shield) you have 100% Sword/Shield abilities to equip. If you use it with Lancer, maybe you only have 90% or even 80% but you can still use a Lance if you want to and not have access to Lancer locked abilities (useable on the Lancer unlocked job such as Dragoon).

They stated recently that Jobs will not level. They receive no experience. They are simply slap on titles with benefits.

Anyway, aside from some subtle differences we both agree we'd want it to be flexible. Paladin locked in to sword & shield only will be pretty stupid (in my opinion) and I'll probably be one more fng nail in the coffin for me and this game. I am hopeful and I am optimistic (at times) but I feel like SE is really trying to push me away by making this game less and less free-form, be the kind of adventurer you want to be, and more close-minded, be this kind of adventurer or GTFO.

There's no way to be sure, but it is by far my #1 fear for my future with this game. Me personally. Don't care if 12 million people come back and adore the shit out of it. That's between 12mil and SE. All I care about is playing the kind of game I want to play and enjoy the time I spend playing it. People seem to forget that around here.