Need help understanding a few things.

[Sonofruss]

Well first off I am a horrible newb. I've been to the wiki's, multiple sites and forums but I just don't seem to be grasping what I would assume to be simple but important concepts.

For starters I've spent most of my time just working on various skills and quests as I try to determine what role I enjoy.

I have 100 in most combat related skills and I was killing skeletons when I set upon by a large group and died. Well I rez and as I am walking back I notice this guy who's pretty much naked, just standing, not fighting back and hes being attacked by about 4-6 specters thingies. (the simple undead who cast spells) well hes being cast upon and beaten upon but he's taking almost no damage. What am I doing wrong? I am fully armoured to the best of my ability (leather and some plate) and i die so easily. Hes freakin naked and they are nothing but a cool breeze to him.

Also I was working on the friends of the library quest (probably to hard for my abilites but my tamed pet (a highland buroe, sorry about spelling) was tanking pretty much everything for me and I came across this creature named Nomitus or something like that. Well my pet attacked it and he killed my pet in about two hits or so. I tried to hit it and well lets just say i ran away and had to get new underwear for my character....

I would love to understand what I'm doing wrong, what I need to improve on/get/practice so I can go into the wilds and hold my own. Also I would love to be able to defeat a creature like nomitus some day.

Secondly, how do I know if the armor/weapon I have is any good? They all seem the same to me. So how do I know if an armor drop is better than what I have. Again I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for.

Finally, I died and by the time I got back to where my body was it wasn't there. I was told in game chat that it more than likely rotted away. I lost a couple of things that I had found in my travels and my own stock of stuff (bandages, regents, etc). Is there anyway to get them blessed or prolong my decay time so I don't lose them?

My apologes in advance for being a complete newb and the long message but I really want to be able to fully enjoy the Pandora UO experience.

Thank You.