Honestly, not really liking the idea.
I can appreciate how it would increase the appeal for newer players, but I think you're underestimating the implications.
People rarely deck out their armies in awesome gear, and if you just have to worry about decking yourself out, you could seriously tear up a battle. Add to the fact that sometimes clan players have WEEKS in advance before others, I think this would be too much of an advantage for clan players.
As an example, I could afford to deck myself out with the best armor, get a MW weapon, etc. Recently fought for a team that was completely naked. We still had a chance of winning, sadly. It would have been totally unfair for a lightly armed group of bandits to see "Unarmed" for that caravan and then end up fighting some completely decked out cavalry mercenaries.
What I would understand this suggestion for would be for defending or assaulting a fief, where the stakes are high. Especially since the AI is apparently really bad about gear selection.
