Holy Shield versus Lightning Shield

[Arnulf]

Why doesn't Holy Shield in WoW work exactly the same as Holy Shield in Diablo II? A self-buff that Greatly increases Armor(defense) from the shield and dramatically increases chance to block - that seems like the PERFECT thing a paladin should get for a 31-point talent in protection. It works, too, with Blizzard's stated goal with the paladin-as-a-tank: no snap aggro.
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Why can the warrior use his shield as a weapon and the paladin cannot? Paladins in D2 had Smite... and Charge too...

It all was fine when Holy Shield was not a 31 point talent. I think the first version of 1.9 seemed allright to me. I'm not too sure if Holy Shield was then a 31 point talent already. But the reasoning behind moving Holy Shield to the 31 point position and at the same time removing any benefits it might get from +spell damage equipment is a mystery to me.

So I'm asking anyone who was testing paladins on the official test realms: Did you find these easily achievable conditions (or combinations) that made Holy Shield so powerful like the developers said?

I did test the paladin on the test realms before they put up the second version of 1.9. I cannot say that Holy Shield was so powerful that it should get the 31 point requirement. Maybe someone on the Blizzard forums did and reported it? I would like to know.

Maybe one point to begin with investigating is that in 1.9 you cannot combine the Sanctity Aura with Holy Shield because that aura is now a 21-point talent in the Retribution tree. By the way you cannot combine Sanctity Aura with Holy Shock, the 31 point talent in the Holy tree, anymore either.

Maybe my viewpoint is just too narrow?

Having said all that, I still maintain that complete balance of 1on1 PvP (and to a lesser extent in PvE) in WOW is an illusion. There are so many things to consider; items, level difference, the advantage of surprise, latency, and last but not least individual playstyle. But I like the concept of stone/scissors/paper. That is to say that certain classes perform better against some classes (or mob types) and worse against others. Mixed groups should even that out.