Oh, I thought you said "handbag doggie" in reference to the fact that pets carry vendor trash for you. I use cats for my pets.
I'm still not so sure about this. How can you expect to make a "realistic" game that looks even like Diablo III run on netbooks? I think the art style is deliberate AND used to make the game run on low end stuff. Warcraft III was just cartoony, especially compared to, say, Stronghold 2 or Galactic Battlegrounds.
I REALLY don't think it's going to get harder. If it's too easy on the hardest difficulty setting for you, it's just too easy of a game.
I thought you were talking about requirements to use the items. I guess it is odd that strength increases damage, but other stats increase damage in less noticeable and less optimal ways (focus allows you to strike with both weapons at once and dexterity reduces the damage penalty of glancing blows). I've been focusing a lot on defensive stats, so I hadn't really thought this issue through, so you make a very good point.
I highly doubt an almost-indie game like this will be getting anywhere close to 200 pages, but your points are all fair enough.