With the influx of ranged theres a small counter I have been using and it works pretty well. You just grab the 0 skill shield, hide covered round shield, and put it on your back.
When you KNOW you are gunna get shot just turn your back and the shield's 21 armor rating will absorb a great amount of damage for you.
I got 1 shield skill so I could use a 28 armor shield and made a video of how it works.
It took 10 arrows to kill me with a Yumi bow + tatar arrows and 6 PD. Normally I die in 2-3 shots from that HA. I only have 32 armor so for people who wear more armor they will see an even better tanking ability. :D
Its not a hard counter but its def better than trying to actually shield arrows/bolts holding the shield out. The 0 skill shield is only 2 weight and it has 21 armor so it is definitely worth just having on your back to cover you while you are fighting at least.
Stats wise, only the armor rating of the shield counts into its absorbing ability, so if you have higher shield skill the plate shields (buckler doesnt work because it's on your hip) are great. Headshots/legshots dont get reduced damage but that still makes it more difficult for the ranged. Also, higher shield skill does not factor into the absorbability of the shield.
And unfortunately it doesn't reduce melee damage :p
