I just want to make a short note about what a BUCKLER is.
Historically a buckler was a very small round shield, often metal, that would be held in a "fist grip". They were very common, very portable, very portable - you can wear them on your hip. A swashbuckler is someone who rubbed their rapier against their buckler (swash is a kind of grating noise). The best example of a buckler I've seen in film or television is SPARTACUS when Kirk Douglas fights Woody Strode. (Side note, "Woody" from Toy Story is named after that actor - he also did a lot of westerns).
The name buckler basically means "the boss of a shield" (the umbo) which is the convex or pointed centre of round shields. And that's what bucklers are, basically, the centre part of small shield, on it's own, with a fist grip.
However, it seems Gary Gygax thought a buckler was a shield that buckled onto your forearm leaving your off-hand free, e.g. archers could use them and still fire.
There's no historic basis for that, though there are illustrations of knights strapping shields to the upper arms that might be a lack of accuracy on the part of illustrators (another common feature of manuscripts was to have knights fight giant snails - goodness alone what that was all about).
Now, yes, I know bucklers in EK (perhaps the sequels) are a universal shield, Warriors, Clerics, Rogues, Mages. It gives them a role. And you can't use them with bows etc. so I know you're not using the AD&D template there.
But for a future game could I suggest something?
(1) Heaviest Shields = Warrior Only (we get that already, e.g. Scutum)
(2) Heavy Shields = Warrior, Cleric (e.g. Hero's Shield).
(3) Bucklers = Warrior, Rogue and NOT Clerics. (Bucklers are a roguish, literally swashbuckers as said)
(4) No Mage Shields
I understand the utility of some of EK's shields for a Mage, but I think that functionality should have gone into some of the more defensive orbs, an Attribute that ups the minimum damage resistance like having a shield does.
Also, can some of the smaller shields get Targe in there somewhere? A Targe is the Celtic name for a small forearm shield, strapped and gripped, it's a really iconic name up here, as much as Claymore is. Even if you don't have class of them, Targe of the Ancients or whatever would be a joy for Scots to see in a game.