I like shields cause they keep up survivability but dual wielding will raise damage significantly. Maybe keep him dual wielding so he takes more damage from hits and raise his HP and endurance faster. Also, its better to dual wield the same type of weapon if you haven't maxed out the proficiency, cause you gt twice the XP towards weapon proficiency if its the same type of weapon making them more effective. I'd start Ricard with spears and make swords his secondary priority.