I felt like armor was crutch anyway

It definitely is, but I think it's a good one for the tutorial stretch while people are learning how their character and the monsters move, and since it's a flat boost it becomes less and less impactful as the story goes on, giving a smoother learning curve for new players. By the time someone gets into the meat of high rank if they're not moving right they're going to get fucked up even in defender gear, but at the same time in high rank they get to branch out and do basic buildcrafting with armor skills so there's an active incentive not to use it then as well.