Yeah, it’s super hard. The game has changed a lot over time, and more often than not, old info never gets changed, so there is a ton of misinformation out there.
I think Sankis is a good idea. The occasional doubled toughness is definitely helpful. I wonder if you’ll have a bit of trouble surviving without Stone Gauntlets. The armor from those is super helpful. Give it a shot, though!
BTW, here is a list of which damage sources are additive and which are multiplicative. Can come in handy.