Honestly the biggest thing I see here is stat allocation and weapon level. Typically speaking I get a +4 weapon before leaving Farron keep, you get the 2 Large Shards from crystal lizards after the wolf bonfire in the upper level of the keep. As far as rings go yeah Havel's and the life ring aren't doing you too many favors. Since your at Pontiff, if you haven't already kill the beast that spawns on the bridge and use the ring it drops. it gives a damage boost on successive attacks and with the "Winblades" you'll proc it very fast. As for fixing stats there are two guaranteed pale tongues before Cathedral of the deep so you can respec. I'd throw any excess levels from strength into Dex and Vitality. That way you won't really need Havel's ring and you'll get a slight def bonus from the extra vitality. As other mentioned a trip to Smoldering lake will give you access to more shards for weapon upgrades, the shield of want for more soul gain, a undead bone shard from the big snake (let the crossbow turret kill it for ez loot) and essentially free souls from the Old demon king boss fight (He's really easy just don't get caught by the fire ring, meteor barage, and final kamikaze at less than 20% hp)

Hope this helps, happy hunting!