Are orcs always super squishy/terrible tanks? I'm finding myself in a bit of a cyle: my defenses suck because my abilities (parry, armor use, dodge) are so low, but I can't get up my defensive abilities because I get absolutely railed when I try to solo anything.

Some potential problems:
Should I be soloing with a shield even though orcs gain no shield block ability?
Should I empty down below half weight like you would with an assassin/thief? If so, does this completely bork my ability to bash?
Should I just simply not be worrying about my defensive ability levels cause orcs never get so good anyways?