You dont really want any other curses taking place of the life tap. Only 1 curse at a time remeber. I don't think deadly strike works for pallys, but your friends are probably just saying they suck because they get theyre asses handed to them by smiters all the time. They do crazy dmg, they hit every time, and can get crazy defense. For for belt Id use a dungos. For pvp Id use steelrends. You really only need absorb rings if your planning on going toe to toe w/ Uber Mephy.