You already are.
Not really. If I take an 18/21 build with 6 IF, my loomed medium armor already lets me survive anywhere from 3-5 hits, barring held high-speed bonus hits from high damage weapons (which are fairly easy to block, if you are paying attention). This, combined with the relatively slow pace of combat, means that melee fights can tend to be fairly dull.
I feel the degree of body armor I currently have (58) should be the armor value used for fully loomed plate, that medium armor should be in the 30 armor range, and that light armor should be in the 10-15 armor range.
Even my 12/27 STF can usually take a few hits before going down (assuming I don't gore myself with my own speed bonus), which is somewhat silly.