All you people and your light weapons, and here I am fatrolling around with a Fire Greataxe...
I've also been trying SL1 no summons, which brought to light the fact that upgraded weapons can be really REALLY good without even having much in the way of STR/DEX. Reinforced Clubs with the right elements on them can work all the way up to NG+, and you have plenty of souls to spare to use on titanite if you're staying on SL1.
I just think it's really neat how the game is beatable without even accessing the whole character stats part of it.