Garms until high level, just saves you money. You can go prot. at high level and switch to sword, or if not and you stay spear go armour. But it's really preference, they all could work, and you get an advantage to different types of attacks. PvE I would say Garms always, and PVP do what you want.
And if you want more in depth, READ A GUIDE IN THE STICKY! GUIDES ARE WRITTEN FOR A REASON!
I'd go with protectors. In armor, you get 1-shot by other INT. In garms, without pimp gear, you get 2-shot by STR. So, Protector pretty much balances it up.