I'd like to hear an argument/defense of why crafted armors and items should be better than found gear.
Because if they are not it makes crafting completely pointless. Why craft some plate armor when I can find some in a box or vendor that's better. It's not like money is ever an issue in the game.
I've seen plenty of games where crafting is mainly something extra for people to do who like the idea of crafting--for some people it's the idea of crafting their equipment--or even just some of it--that appeals to them. Personally, the whole "crafting" gig has never appealed to me, but I think the whole notion that "because it's crafted it should be better than discovered/store-bought" is nonsense....;) "Crafted" is, after all, just another word for "homemade"....;)
The idea that because something is "crafted" it should be "better" than anything else in the game is one that I don't think is defensible. It's there, if you want it; if not, the game won't penalize you for ignoring it. At any rate, I think the game deliberately doesn't want players expending a lot of time on the crafting option, imo.
