Firstly, Frodo is obviously not a STR character. Duh.
Secondly Gandalf followed the Balrog down a frickin' mountain, fighting him all the way as fire licked at his flesh, before fighting him back up the mountain to the very top. Clearly Lord of the Rings has room for Heroic Fantasy as well.
I'm not really sure of the wisdom of applying D&D metrics to LotR characters but anyway. Yes LotR is heroic fantasy but I don't recall Aragorn or Boromir regularly leaping 20 feet in the air from a standing position or using shove as the most efficient means of fighting in a battle (I assume I am correct in using them as examples because they would be STR based characters in your estimation?). Also, I assume you are referencing Peter Jackson's films here because he took some very creative liberties with his version of the source material. Legolas certainly never went surfing on a shield while loosing off dozens of arrows at the Battle of Helms Deep.
Like I said, I really don't have an issue with heroic fantasy but I feel there should be some progression from the relative inexperience of level 1 to the heroes we later become. Jumping and shoving are fine in themselves but they just need to be toned down in my opinion to feel a little more real. Quaff a potion of speed and jump or run larger distances? Totally fine. But our characters can do these things at will, with or without magical aid.
Fighters have proficiency in all martial weapons, which means they're trained in their use and can fight with them as well as any trained soldier. They further specialize in specific fighting styles in the form of Fighting Style choices, but even if you specialized in Great Weapon Fighting you're still as trained (proficiency bonus) in the use of a longbow as your resident rogue sniper is.
Fighters are masters of war who can pick up any weapon and fight effectively with it, but reach a new height of deadliness in a specialized style of combat. Even a 1st level fighter is meant to be a hardened combat veteran, a trained bodyguard, or a royal knight in the court of a king.
As for if the game wants us to see ourselves as nobodies or somebodies, I think the intro resolves that pretty easily. We see all around us dozens of bodies of normal folks who've been mind controlled by the Mindflayers and torn a part by imps. They're laying on the ground bleeding out as we march through the ship, weapon in hand, cutting through the imps and fighting our way to the controls.
We're clearly supposed to be someone exceptional. Someone that can earn the respect of a Githyanki pirate or a 200 year old vampire spawn. We go on to lock blades with ogres and come to blows with evil hags and flesh eating gnolls.
I dunno how much more clear the game can be that we're not average folk. We have a set of skills and abilities that make us exceptional, and that is why we're able to escape the Nautiloid ship in the first place.
I really don't think a level 1 character is a Royal Knight, sorry. I can't recall a single D&D CRPG I have played where level 1 characters start the game surrounded by mind flayers, dragons and cambions. In BG1 we start the game clearing a cellar full of rats, hardly the work of a Royal Knight or powerful Mage is it? In my humble opinion Level 1 characters should not be getting off alive from a mind flayer ship of their own accord. This is Larian's take on D&D, quite a unique one it would seem.
This is the last comment I will make in communication with you because I think our opinions are a chasm apart. You seem to think Level 1 characters are akin to Superman, I don't. Let's leave it at that. Sincerely, I hope you enjoy the game on its full release.
