I am not sure that it has not been mentioned before...
but I wanted to draw attention to the fact that medieval plate armour was often mirror polished. The polish could cost more than the armor itself as modern polishing compounds were not available and it was very time consuming. The bright sunlight reflected from the armours was supposed to indicate a visual similarity of knightly class and angels. While the pauldrons seen here are absurd, the polish is not. There were less shiny armours, too. I remember Tobias Capwell making a suit of blued, almost pitch black englisch armour based on original pieces. Make it shiny, make it etched with gilded symbols, do whatever you want but make it so that it works as armour. Decoration that does not change material thickness or shape does not hamper combat effectiveness, giant Spikes and unnecessary pieces add weight and hamper movement.
A notable side effect of very fancy armour is an added armour class of a very different kind. If you can afford armour the price of a house, you are a very valuable captive. Don't kill a nobleman, exchange him for a fortune.
I always disliked Oblivions leveled items because it would make poor bandits wear ebony armor. You don't hide in dark and moist ruins waiting for a caravan to steel a few thousand Draken when your could trade your armor for a house and lots to spare.
