I agree on the part that it shouldn't be too 'outlandish' like 'epic' purple shining swords etc.
Just the plain and cool steel with diamonds , sapphires etc to make it more beautiful. It can be abit outlandish but not like world of warcraft's uber ugly cataclysmic swords and shizzle.
The armor is also very important, for plate I'd suggest a tight full plate armor, like with the neck protector etc, shields are imo one of the most important things in a whole equip.
Round shields need to be big and round (obvious :D) whereas bucklers (for archers or so) should be small and not so perfect on the artwork.
I remember in Baldur's Gate bigger shields didn't give u a disadvantage only they are heavier, I suggest P.E. should keep in mind that a bigger shield is idd heavier, more protection vs arrows /(fire/icemagic?) but also makes you slower..
In Baldur's Gate a fighter with a sword & shield was pretty epic, just haste and couple of buffs and he couldn't die and also dealt most dmg, which shouldn't be the case imo.
For mages armor etc I'd suggest a bit more of the 'epic' glowing shizzle, like for example a robe with .. lets say fire resi stats gets a small firebolt twirling around the mage or so.
To get the feeling he's really surrounded by magic