Gift choice for keeping orcish followers alive in .15?

[Cantwell]

So the ability to give followers something is neat. I mean, the one-time-only business is patently silly, but I'm ok with that.

The question, though, is what's the best way to keep them alive? You only get to give them one gift each. Gotta make it count.

Large shields? (Haven't actually found any in the current game, but I surely will.)
Vampiric weapons? One of my earliest warlords has a +4 vampiric trident, so he stands behind me and heals up. That seems promising.
Highest damage output? One has a bardiche of holy wrath, and he's surviving handily. But maybe that's because it's also a polearm.
Polearms? To stay out of harm's way a bit?
High-AC armour? Beogh's given a couple of plate armours and enchanted them already, so this doesn't seem to be something I need to do.
Equipment with resists? My high priest has a randart +7 mace of flaming that gives rPois. That meant he could come do Swamp with me without getting confused and drowning. That was great! Because otherwise those guys are just fishfood.
Antimagic? Regen?

Anybody done this a few times and worked out a good rule of thumb?

[stickyfingers]

1-handed polearms (preferably artefacts with resists or sinv etc, or demon tridents). Monsters with good base damage are actually stronger with spears than halberds or bardiches, not to mention the shield.

[Tedronai]

(large) shields

[daggaz]

rPois doesnt protect against confusion..

[crate]

rPois doesnt protect against confusion..

it does if the confusion is from meph clouds (including swamp drake breath)

[Cantwell]

1-handed polearms (preferably artefacts with resists or sinv etc, or demon tridents). Monsters with good base damage are actually stronger with spears than halberds or bardiches, not to mention the shield.

Wow, that's counterintuitive.
Good to know! There are a couple randart tridents around, so I'll go gather them up and pass them out. Then, presumably, Beogh will eventually give each orc a shield, since they've got a free hand.

I like the mental image of a player orc with a battleaxe, in front of an impregnable knot of shielded orc warlords waving tridents every direction.

[stickyfingers]

He may give them arbalests if they lack any ranged attacks and shields first, and then an orc with arbalest won't get any shueld.

[njvack]

Unless things have changed recently, warlords with ranged weapons are insanely great. I'd take arbalests over shields any day.

Keeping your dudes alive is largely keeping them out of trouble.

[XuaXua]

Do they need ammunition? IIRC, older versions needed to recover ammo and then might sometimes swap to less effective/lower quantities of ammo, or even just throwing ammo.

[stickyfingers]

Yes, they need it, beogh will give it occassionally, as there's no more picking up (though only plain ones)

[XuaXua]

If you gift an orc a Vampiric or Distortion branded weapon, will they unequip it?

[stickyfingers]

Sure, just like any other monster