After having a sword/spear dwarf, I found the swords to defend better. Add in that swords did more damage and I found little reason to have the spears. I would expect polearm to be similar to spear. The real reason to take polearm would be charge set and cut off, but these don't directly help you last long in a fight. With forgecraft, you will be able to reforge two weapons. Getting two swords with +8-10 dam on each should not be too hard. If you're going for survivability, avoid Gates of the Forge. It looks like a good idea, but I didn't see anything with average hero eq that leaned towards defensive stats.
How about sword/hand (for the few times your weapons get removed)
soul of the mountain (straightforward +200hps, no mystery on if this is working)
ward of blades (defend a little better and maybe get riposte to fire a bit more)

Unless you're set on dwarves, you may want to consider other races. Dex, physical or mental resist may be more important depending on what you plan to fight.