Can someone put together a good comparison?

[Modica Solis]

After trying my hand at Monk, Shaman, Disciple, and Necromancer, I've decided to return to my old home - the realm of the Defensive Fighters. I've played tanks in every game, of all sorts (Beastlord tanking for small groups in EQ, every tank class in EQ2, Warrior and Monk in FFXI, Druid and Warrior in WoW) and each one has presented a unique challenge and forced me to use different means and different skills.

Playing avoidance tanks was much more engaging and observant, watching for adds, making sure I hit that dodge, keeping my DPS up to keep hate. Playing plate tanks was a bit more laid-back, and at times, more fun (less deaths :P), but I still had to make sure I was totally aware of my group's abilities, their movements, and spawn locations. My notebook really came in handy. And then there were the off-kilter tanks (Beastlord and Druid) which required me to by entirely in control and incredibly knowledgeable about any and every possible situation. This was the most draining type of tanking, mentally, and I would like to avoid it if possible.

So with that said, what are Vanguard's tanks like? I know there are no avoidance tanks, unless you count Drunken Style monks. And I know each class can wear plate, so that's not a large difference. But what do Warriors do that Paladins and Dread Knights can't? What about Paladins? Dread Knights? What are their strengths and shortcomings? How well can they solo? How well can they group? How well can they manage the battlefield, whether that be unintended adds, a sudden damage spike from the mob, or an epic hit from your Ranger?

I've tried each class to about ten or eleven and each one has been a blast to play, so I'm having a lot of trouble picking out which would be the most enjoyable to play. The Warrior seemed very brutal, very upfront about being a tank. There was no finger-waving, no watching health bars. You ran the combat, you were in control of the field. The Paladin seemed to be very much a man of the people, occupied with how others were doing moreso than with how the mob or the area around him was holding up. And the Dread Knight was entirely concerned about himself and the mob, maintaining debuffs, maintaining damage spells, and lending more power to his Dreadful Countenance. Do I have it right? Or does this change later on, as I get to a higher level and the class (maybe?) evolves.

Any help would be much appreciated, and sorry for the long-winded post :)

[Sailormoontw]

If you want a avoidance style tank, you might choose monk with drunken path.

[Khaunshar]

As you said, there is no avoidance tank. The Drunken Discipline isnt accepted by the community right now, and most likely never will be anyway. Its lacking in aggro ability either way.

Dread Knights tank by way of debuffs, spells, and a modicum of damage. They also offer a lot of versatility in terms of AoE fear, a crowd control ability, somewhat tricky-to-use stances, teleport. However, most of these abilities come quite late, and dont have that much to do with tanking.

Dreadful Countenance is more of a side-effect right now, than something you actively manage. At its full level, its extremely powerful, and thus makes a Dread Knight the perfect single-mob tank if given time. Currently, DRKs also are able to get aggro quickest and are easy to play to a modicum of success.

Warriors are really straightforward. Basically, you whack on the mob, and hit your taunts. All these battlecries and AoE buffs are on a long reuse timer, so they are not a major selling point. Warriors arguably have the best multi-mob aggro, slightly easier to use stances than the other tanks.
They are, currently, the most robust straight tank with no fancy stuff added, lacking sorely in the utility, and solo department.

Paladins I cannot judge too well, being only level 10 with mine. Also, the class is considered unfinished in terms of its aggro holding capabilities. Right now, the paladin has a mix of buffs, auras, blessings and some decent DD capabilties. Its NOT a healer, as paladin heals are pretty bad due to their casting time.
A paladin, right now, has to blow a lot of energy and endurance into holding aggro, and thus its not possible for me to actually play a style that goes beyond "extreme aggro holding"

How do they play? Dreadknights play versatile, and easy. Its not an easy class to MASTER, but an easy class to start with and have success.

Warriors are about developing a routine, and using what you are given. You dont have many pivotal abilities, so its about playing to perfection, rather than adaption.

Paladins are workhorses, you basically spam anything that does damage and/or hate, while maintaining buffs when you can. Auras arent anything to write home about, and pale compared to stances. You will run your standard +damage aura anyway.

[CrashHappy]

Auras arent anything to write home about, and pale compared to stances. You will run your standard +damage aura anyway.

Unfortunately true, I'm only low level myself but it's easy to see that swapping from the damage aura to engage the defense one and incurring a drop of 20% damage is rarely going to be an appealing option. The regen aura appears to make no difference so it's + damage all the way at the moment.

[Modica Solis]

Ended up going with Warrior. The straight-tank approach is really appealing to me and so far (just got to level seven after starting around noon), I'm having a lot of fun. I have a few qualms though.

1. The once per minute limit on the cries is very annoying, not because I want to use them more often, but because they already have cooldown timers. Frequently, I'll hit one of my cries and it will be unusable because of the once a minute rule. They should change the cooldown for the cries to a minute, or they should figure out a way to darken the icons for the minute that they can't be used, or they should get rid of the once per minute penalty period.

2. Warriors are supposedly masters of all weapons, right? We should get some kind of advantage, then, when it comes to wielding weapons. This could be our flair, even. While Monks have their three disciplines, Warriors have access to three classes of weapon proficiency. You'd have Simple (Clubs/Crushing weapons and bows), Martial (Blades and crossbows), and Exotic (Spears, Axes, Staff). From there, I don't know what, but some new abilities tied to the class of weapons. Maybe Simple could aid in control of a combat situation with stuns, temporary knockout abilities, something like that. Martial would lead to better Bleeds, snares, parries, lots of utility. Exotic could be all about damage and striking critical weak points, are using overwhelming force. It'd distinguish our vast array of weapons, which is something that I think needs to be done.

Other than those two qualms, I'm really looking forward to when I start getting in groups. I haven't tanked in Vanguard yet, so I hope it's not too different and difficult to get used to, but hey, the challenge is always welcome :D