The thing with this game is that it tries to simulate reality. I believe balance can be achieved in a realistic way.
Yes, if you are light (no armor) you should move faster than someone carrying weight.
Yes, drawing a bow should take stamina. I'm an avid bow user and after a dozen shots within a short period of time, my arm is sore and I'm a little tired. Even after I draw, holding the draw continues to wear me down. When I'm reloading, it is actually a small resting period. Your stamina should regen back at this time. The current issue with stamina is that it regenerates too fast. If I draw-fire-draw-fire shot after shot, without stopping, I should not regain back the stamina I use and should result in a net loss. Thus shoot-run-shoot should result in OOS rather quickly.
As for moving with the bow drawn. It's possible to walk and shoot. It's even possible to run and shoot. The problem is that accuracy goes out the window if you run and shoot, not to mention that it would be exhausting thus your stamina will/should bottom out very quickly. Walking and shooting, while possible, means a noticeable drop in accuracy.
Strength should determine both bow range and damage. While drawing my bow does tire me and my arm, it's my upper body strength that determine my upper limit when it comes to how many pounds my bow's draw can be. The greater the pounds, the further the arrow will travel and the more penetrating power it has at a given range.
This all pertains to bows but what about crossbows. The benefit of crossbows is that the string is held back mechanically. They typically take both hands/arms to draw the string back.
Their range and damage is fixed and not based on strength. They should have the range and penetrating power of a character with high strength using a bow since both arms are used to draw the string and not just one and how it's done offers better leverage. They will be more accurate than a regular bow for characters with lower agility while character's with higher agility will see little to no difference in accuracy.
Sound better than bows right? Well they are not without drawbacks. Slower reload time than bows and you should have to stop to reload. Here is a pic of what a medieval crossbow looked like (one of many different designs).
http://tedlington.files.wordpress.com/2 ... ossbow.jpgThat "handle" out in front is actually a foot hold. The user steps on it while drawing the string back with both hands. Meaning that the person would not be moving.
This should solve the potential "meta" problem in a realistic way. Since range is determined by strength, the naked archer with the focus in agility won't be able to get their higher strength, armor wearing, target within range without being in range of said target if they happen to switch to a bow. While the naked archer has better accuracy (higher agility), the armored target is armored. So the naked archer can hit the armored target more often without missing, the armored target doesn't have to hit the naked archer as much to put him/her down. Thus equal footing.
Now you may be saying that this is armored archer vs naked archer. What about archer vs melee user? Well this is just where shields need to come into play properly (further development).
Shields should stop arrows causing little to no harm and the melee user should be able to run while blocking. It should not take stamina to raise the shield into a blocking position. The only time stamina should drain is when you actually block an attack. Arrows should cause very little drain to someone blocking with a shield. Meaning that the archer doing their run-shoot-run will OOS before the melee user leaving the archer no choice but to flee or die.
Now you may be thinking that melee would be OP vs archers and the meta would be melee.
The way I see it, is that there are three fighting styles in the game currently. Two hand weapon, one hand w/ shield, ranged. In which case the balance is rock/paper/scissors.
One Hand w/ Shield beats Range.
Two Hand beats One Hand w/ Shield
Range beats Two Hand
How and why?
You can block with a melee weapon but should only be able to block melee weapons. A melee weapon should not be able to block arrows, only shields.
Stamina should drain while blocking only when you actually block and the amount of drain should be based on the weight of the weapon (as well as the strength of the person) being blocked. Thus a two handed weapon user would beat the one hand w/ shield user with all else equal. The high damage of the two handed weapon means more damage is getting through the block. The one hand w/ shield user should OOS sooner and with no stamina to block with, they take the full brunt of the attack.
Edit:
Something else that could balance the situation in a realistic way is with running. If agility is currently the primary stat behind running and stamina, it shouldn't. The act of running primarily involves pushing your weight forward with your legs. Professional runners have lean bodies and strong legs. This makes strength the primary attribute behind how fast you can run.
Agility would be a secondary since agility would refer to how accurately you place your feet. Taking professional runners as an example, even if both are equally lean and strong, one can still win over the other by having better technique and technique is primarily governed by agility since it is the precise positioning of one's own body.
Stamina and how long you can exert yourself for comes down to cardio (and will power). The 'strength' of your cardiovascular system is primarily governed by your constitution with strength being the secondary.
So to sum up.
Strength:
Primary attribute for the damage of one handed and two handed weapons as well as the damage and range of bows (not crossbows)
Primary attribute for how fast you can run.
Secondary attribute for your endurance.
Agility:
Primary attribute for how accurate you are with a bow (crossbow included).
Secondary attribute for how fast you can run.
Should have no impact on endurance.
Constitution:
Primary attribute for your endurance.