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I may not be the most popular for saying this, but I really believe what we need is a system that works like this....
1. The basics are cookie cutter. Mitigation (and potential), Hp's (and potential), and Hate gain are the same across the board for any tank class. This is the basic job of the tank, so there shouldn't be any mystery magic numbers here. We all generate hate the same, take a hit the same, and grow in hp's the same. Cookie cutter? Yes. But if any class lacks in one or more of the foundation of tanking, while others do not, they will be lacking. So make all tanks the same at their foundations. You now have balance at the basic level to build on.
2. The fluff is where the variety is. Fluff is utility, buffs, debuffs, and etc. Basically anything that isn't part of the "foundation" of the tank job, but is an added perk. These can be spread out easily among the tank classes equally without causing imbalance, while still giving each class a different feel. Things like +accuracy, +crit, and +dps can be handed to each tank class as buffs. All are beneficial. All are useful. None are overpowering of the other to promote a "prefered" tank. Pal's heal. Let DK's restore mana, Let War's restore endurance. All perks, all useful, none overpowering as long as you keep them spread out. It's when one class get's too many of the useful fluff and others get too many of the minor fluff, that's when fluff can once again imbalance the classes. Equally divide useful, semi-useful, and minor fluff among the three classes to keep balance.
Of course this has been discussed ad nauseam for years so I'm not adding anything new. In other games imbalance was "fixed" by making warr's mitigate better, gain more hp's, and grab hate better. In other words, they excel at the basics of the tanking job. That's what led to them becoming the only desired tank after awhile. So I agree, if people want to avoid this scenario once again, then warr's need more utility to keep balance. If all tanks tank equally, then the next step is balanced fluff. If the foundation AND the fluff is balanced between the classes, then you have a solid class system where all tanks are needed and wanted, and players can enjoy both their primary jobs and utility while still feeling different from the other classes.
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