I rage like baby about range many times i play. but are they ruining my fun? definitely not. Monday mellee for example was great fun the few times i participated, but I would never want that for all time because base elements that make the battle the fun they are were missing.
Also I choose to run around without any shield and I know that.
and +1 for your comment on xbows, leshma.
a general statement to all three topics: There are all sorts of claims from different players on these forums: Cav is like go-kart, archery like egoshooter, shielder for noobs who cant block, 2h spam is OP and so forth. It pretty much says everything about how well balance the classes are, IMO. Of course there is still a lot of fine-tuning to be done, but overall its heading in the right direction.