I'll look into that at some point. At the moment I can't be arsed, quite frankly xD Kinda lazy.
But yes, any stat is superior over defense. Even with a strong melee setup. Well, on armor you rarely ever have a choice. My last Warrior character wore two sun cloaks (Zombie Rina has an armor slot)
Cloak Of Wizardry is an option and for a mage I don't think there's a way around Dragon Cloak.
Btw restocking isn't an option. Sacrifice and Time Back/Ressurrection are. No losses :>