Well number 3 has been accomplished in the newest patch.
You can actually see your weapon's power and speed with all of the buffs in the menu P brings up.
Number two...
Basically.
Although I did include one type you forgot to mention.
A shield that cannot be broken but doesn't nullify damage completely.
Like you guard, and you only take about 22% damage and the rest is blocked.
Chipping Damage if you will.
I wholeheartedly agree with suggestion 1.
2: Are you saying different shield types? Like, a type that blocks only attacks from the front for x hits, one that blocks 360 degrees around for less than x hits, a third type that blocks status/damages the enemy or something...? Sounds cool.
3: Agreed; it's hard to see the difference between "Low" and "Ultra" for some of the equipment boosts. I liked the numbers that told us what our Def/Elm/Per etc were! I didn't know what they meant in terms of actually reducing damage, but I liked the numbers...