The forcefield nerf should be reverted, all shield coverages should at the very least match with the models (and probably cover more in fact) but the shield skill should give only a minimal increase in shield coverage (to compensate, it could give more in the other shield stats)
This nerf occured a while ago, but it still hurts people that use heather/kite and board shields without putting 1 or 2 points more than needed in shield skill. Simply because without that, your coverage, especially on the sides, is less than what the model shows.