I was operating under the assumption that shields would be hardness 9+, as in the Glass Cannon Podcast. If ~5 is truly the newer number, then yeah, there's gonna be a lot of dents. As for damage tracking, I prefer the Dent system. The player doesn't need to do any subtraction, and repairs can...
Most hits won't dent. It's not like tracking HP. When you get hit for more than the shield can take you check off a box. I don't see it as being very complex.
Have shields been nerfed a ton since the Glass Cannon podcast? They had a fighter with a Hardness 9 wooden shield, and Valeros has a "Heavy steel shield" that has only Hardness 5?