I'd rather the armors were just balanced a little better.
Consider the dark justiciar armor, as an example. By the time Shadowheart comes across that armor, it's a downgrade for her of two full points of AC. That's a lot to swallow, and I don't think the d4 of necrotic damage in shadowy areas makes up for it.
That said, I don't want her scale mail to suddenly look like the dark justiciar armor. It's not the same thing. The AC is only part of the armor. There are other considerations, like the aforementioned necrotic damage.
