Hm, I do think that some good points are made here from all sides. I would think that a better thing would be to utilize your shields more often. Also, the DP24 is not going to do much against the shotgun or some of the other weaponry available to people willing to fork out the money for it.
As someone primarily guarded by SG and DS, I do think some improvement could be made, however most of the time I see attacks from Separatists / NPCs affecting us rather than by BHs. I've heard and seen that the hitbox on your shield is very bad when it is being held by DS until it is placed. Perhaps a better avenue would be to improve the protection offered by the shield when it is being held or when people are moving around with it, which would make the shield something used much more often and taken advantage of both for you guys and if/when DU comes back (until that time, the shield is something totally unique to DS and is a cool draw that I feel is underused). It's shown in the clone wars to be extremely good when being held and offering near total protection to those using it, and I see it being used well during trainings, but I very rarely see it used in events or during normal times due to these lackings. Not going to vote as either way would be a benefit to some extent for you guys, but that is my take on the matter: Rather than add this weapon (which is by most accounts, mine included, a downgrade to the DC15A/S) improve the shield's hitbox and protection which would enable much more RP and tactical combat!