Right, you want to be able to stack procs because you only get one action per turn and one character to control. The vast majority of magic I have seen does not stack like the melee abilities causing me to view them with some suspicion. Vampirism is the correct choice, although it does make the gameplay a little more tedious in a different way. If you stack the armor ability, you can get the regenerative properties during battle that you would normally get from food (after you upgrade it).
Have you tried using different weapons with Dual Wield? I'd be interested to see how it works out. I'd probably take it over Shield Bearer, to be honest. As much as I love shields in games, killing faster usually trumps defense (and if you're over-relying on defense, chances are you're in trouble.) I agree that Vampirism is probably best for an optimal character though. The "armor ability," do you mean Master of Arms? I haven't looked that that tree much. Is it better than the Dodge tree?
