Guardians and champions are effectively 2 sides of the same coin. Both wear heavy armour, both engage in direct melee combat, both are combat experts. However, where the champ focuses primarily on melee DPS, the guard focuses mainly on absorbing damage through mitigations and shield useage. Before we go into the different trait lines of guard, let's look at some other similarities between these 2 classes.
Both can gain access to reasonable self heals, more or less depending on which trait line is trained and active.
Both have the ability to draw threat off of other players.
Both look awesome as dwarves!
Both can wield massive 2 handed weapons.
Now a few key differences.
Only the champ can dual wield.
Only the guard can use shields (guards are the only class in lotro that can use heavy shields).
Guards get a really nifty ability to make a whistle that can be given to another player. When used the player will summon the guardian to their location.
Combat for the champion is based on fervour. Guardian combat is responsive based on either blocks or parries.
Combat for a guard changes a bit typically based on whether or not you are in a group. When fellowing, a guard will often (but not always) be in a tanking role. However, tanking usually means doing less DPS and that means that regular mobs can take way too long to take down solo, so a solo guard will typically be using the overpower stance (which is now a trait in the Keen Blade line) which allows faster attacks and more damage output.
Regardless of your role a few things are always the same for a guard. Guardians have three different kinds of combat ability: basic, block response and parry response. What this means is that a guard will always begin combat with only a few basic attacks available. However, upon blocking an enemy's attack, certain shield based abilities become available. Using some of these can lead to a chain of special responsive abilities.
Likewise, parrying an attack opens up other special abilities, some of which provide a special ability chain. In both cases though, the special abilities are only available for a set amount of time before becoming unusable, so be careful not to get stunned while in the middle of a chain.
Guard traits runa wide gamut. On the one end is pure tanking: low DPS, high survivability, high blocking. On the other end is higher DPS, lower defense, no shield, decent parrying. In between finds a more hybridized blend of both defense and damage.
Defender of the free:
High damage mitigations, heavy shield usage, focus on drawing threat and holding it, aggroing multiple mobs at once, defending allies and self heals. This trait line is what makes guards desirable in group play situations. Almost every group running an instance or skirmish will want to have at least one main tank (generally either a guard or a warden, but sometimes a champ or cappy) and this is the trait line that will most benefit your group. Your role as a tank is to keep the enemy focused on you while your allies assault the enemy and keep you alive.
The Keen Blade:
Probably the default trait line for most guards running solo. This trait line exchanges high defense for increased attack speeds and higher DPS. Most will forgo a shield in this stance in order to equip a 2 handed weapon for more powerful blows. If running this trait set in a group the guard can increase their fellowships damage (which can be nice when cleaning up slayer deeds). Additionally KB focuses on bleeds, damage buffs and parrying.
The Fighter of Shadow:
As a rule, yellow trait lines in lotro are designed as alternatives for solo play or small groups, providing a different experience than the red line. The FoS certainly fits that bill. A mix of damage buffs and enemy debuffs, with some self heals and defense thrown in, the FoS line provides a delightful change of pace for the guard. In a group the FoS almost becomes an anti-captain; debuffing with almost everything they do rather than buffing allies.
Whichever trait set you pick, if you like being the burly, damage resistant type, that guard is probably the way to go. Additionally, it is one of the few classes available to all races. When choosing a profession for a guard, the obvious choice is armorer, since you will benefit from heavy armor, shields and shield spikes that can be made by a metalsmith.
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