My perfect 1h shielder:
Level 30 (4 420 577 xp)
Strength: 9
Agility: 27
Hit points: 44
Converted: 2
Ironflesh: 0
Power Strike: 3
Shield: 9
Athletics: 9
Riding: 0
Horse Archery: 0
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 8
One Handed: 173
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
Why perfect? With steel shield, youre immune to:
- crushthrough, because weight of your shield doesnt allow anyone to crushthroughblock you;
- hits of weapons without "bonus against shield";
- arrows are not going to destroy your shield untill about 1000 of them hit it;
- bolts same, + bolts cant pass steel shield, even from triple heirloomed sniper with triple heirloomed bolts. NEVER;
Usually, your shield won't break, because of above. if it comes to axes: you can play offensively against them and "facehug" them with 9 athletics - if someone is going to break your shield with axe, he should have at least 8 PS - so approx. 5 athl. you can use this advantage! also, why at least 8 ps? because:
and since you have +90% to shield resistance from shield skill 9, we can do some maths:
69shieldresistance*190%~~131
Shield resistance works as armor resistance (body, head, leg), so:
from best shield cutter weapon:
47, cut*2=94
Shield can "negate" dmg: at least 50% of resistance, approx 100%
so:
max dmg: 94dmg * (8*13PS)% * 100% - 131 * 50% ~~ 192dmg - 65res(minimum!) ~~ 126dmg
Its the worst scenario. Your Steel Shield *unheirloomed* has 225 hp points. Again, its the worst scenario: full power of your opponent dmg (it can be rolled to only 50% if enemy has bad luck, max to 100% of dmg if he is lucky, and dmg is calculated this way: dmg*(psamount*8)% * rolled %(from 50 to 100)
OK, we have worst scenario. Now if youre lucky:
min dmg: 94dmg * (8*13PS)% * 50% - 131 * 100% ~~ 96dmg - 131res = shield doesnt receive dmg. From shields cutter. Think about regular weapons without bonus to shield. They suck against you. 
PS I dont include speed bonuses in my maths, because its senseless: 13PS guy wont be too fast, for sure. And you can backpedal to decrease his axe dmg!
Oh, and i should add one thing. I think, weapons have to do at least 1 dmg to your shield, for sure. So regular 2 handers will do 1dmg/per hit to your shield. As for arrows, im not sure. Actually, why would you ask about arrows? almost noone owns 3 quivers of regular arrows (28arrowsperquiver*3=84), and normal, "wise" archer uses 2 quivers of bodkins (16arrowsperquiver*2=32). 32 dmg lost, wow. Also, remember: you have 9 athletics, you can get archer before he shot his fifth arrow at you.
Personally for me this build is a little too slow with the heavy steel shield ( which is expensive too , high repair cost ) , and 3ps are a little too weak against high armor players. Especially with cut damage.
4ps is low too , but
i thought about taking the long espada eslavona , which is flexible in what damage you choose. cut/pierce against low/medium armor. mainly pierce against high armor about 55-60.
So for me a build like this ....
Lvl 30 :
Strength: 12
Agility: 24
Hit points: 51
Converted: 2
Ironflesh: 2
Power Strike: 4
Shield: 8
Athletics: 8
Riding: 0
Horse Archery: 0
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0
Weapon Master: 7
One Handed: 164
Two Handed: 1
Polearm: 1
Archery: 1
Crossbow: 1
Throwing: 1
... is fine for me.
Steel shield is too expensive and weak against shield crackers ( 225 hitpoints are too low for shield fighters ) .... and slow .... and heavy .... 4 points against it ...
The 410 hp heater shield is cheaper , faster , lighter and has more hitpoints ( better against shield crackers ).
Edit :
@ Bosco : I think Spawny´s advice is good. In this case 8 Athletic is more important , than 8 wm. And about the sword i have written something in my post too ... Long Espada Eslavona has long range for 1h , but 98 speed isn´t too slow. the 28 pierce can be good against high armor players. Especially if you heirloome it and get more and more damage ( pierce too ).
And Bosco ... is yours a lvl 30 or 31 build ? Looks like 31 for me ;-) I made the same mistake at the beginning , because with lvl 31 you will heirloome most of the time ( at least 3 times ) . You play lvl 30 a long time. Lvl 31 ... i just retire ;-)
Edit 2 : And Spawny´s second advice is right too : Don´t use heavy armor , with a high agi build, because you have a shield. Don´tget hit is the advice ;-) Be fast ! Shielders are at the front. At the front we die anyway. But take some with you. ;-)
A little advice from me , for the armor thing : Use a light armor like padded leather ( 4,5 weight ) , or Gambeson ( 2,5 weight ) and combine it with Mail Gauntlets ( 0,5 weight , but +6 body armor ) and use a medium helmet like nordic helmet , or nordic huscarl 38-40 armor. With this armor you are not too slow, if you get a medium shield, with high hitpoints ( around 400 ). But it should be a fast shield 96+ . Don´t use too heavy boots. Try to strafe and dodge if archers try to shoot your feet.
It´s a funny build and playstyle. :-)
