Armor and Interface (The Importance of Pauldrons)

So far in armor development, I have been noticing a constant thing throughout most armor sets modeled and designed. The differences in armor pieces aren't very definitive in the overall design. In Morrowind, having the pauldrons unequipped could completely change the look of an armor set, but right now, most armor designs for Skywind have pauldrons that blend too much into the other pieces to the point where they barely exist. I personally believe that the pauldrons should be loud and proud, but not as overly exaggerated as the ones in Morrowind. For example, I really liked the original deadric shoulder plates, but Kurasaki's deadric armor, while I love the rest of it, I think that we should use larger pauldrons that better reflect the original's. 

In most of the new armor designs, I can't even really see where the pauldrons become their own piece of the outfit, as they look more like direct parts of the cuirass, or sleeves.

I'd like to build this as a thread for discussion and thought in regards to this, and other armor interface related topics.