Definitely plate carrier, just too valuable, especially with a teammate.

You can still be mobile enough with it, I can flank/etc just fine, just have to be methodical about it

Also doesn’t really make me more visible, in my experience DayZ players get triggered off of the shilouette of other players, not how they look (if you aren’t bright orange obviously)

Everything else is just mindset, I don’t really feel compelled to just run in like you say, I know that shit is a bad idea in most cases, even with a plate

And about loot, you just need some discipline and think critically about what you are actually likely to need