I suppose that if your a short person a larger shield such as a tower shield would block your vision for short periods while you raised it to protect from head attacks. the majority of the time though, it would be held "at ready" or lower to protect from the much more comman body attacks.
The gladius was a decent stabbing weapon but a MUCH more effective slashing weapon. One reason for this was that it lacked a blood groove. This meant that once it was stabbed into someone, the suction made extraction a difficult endeavor which left you open to attacks. true, gladiators used it in the arena, but it saw MUCH more use on the battlefield. This is becaus it was a variation on the greek hoplite. When a legion or any smaller section of it moved, they moved in unisen so that even their steps were in time. It is no wonder that it is said the very ground would tremble at the approach of the legions. this is because of the weight of thousands of feet hitting the ground at once. the ranks were so close together that by block with the shield and slashing with the sword was the most effective manner.
as a side note, the gladiators armed with the partial armor and gladius lost 7 out of 10 times to the ratarius who was armed with the net and trident. This was because the gladius was generally a poor one on one weapon. Maybe this is why most gladiators were not armed with them. they are just most often pictured as this because the gladius is most often associated with rome and the arenas with rome as well. this leads to people mispercieving the gladius as being the only weapon used by romans in any way.
Of course, the 2 polearms would have been spent on the way into grips. one a heavy long spear, the other, the pilus, had a long thin metal shaft the could be bent to deprive an opponant of their sheild and allow the legionare to just slash them open.
I have been using and studying ancient weapons since 1983 and for the last 5 years, have taken carefull notes on the historians who have studied this from the historical perspective. previously, i had done some historical studying on my own with a LOT of actual practice to see what would actually work firsthand.
