Armor Questions

I'm curious about a few things, now that i've actually bothered to buy armor based on any logic other than looks...atleast for the Warrior. Anyway, i'm wondering how you figure armor levels, and some other fairly simple things.

A Defensive Axe Haft +5 Armor, is added to the total armor level...or? A shield is added to the total armor level...or? If not then what percentage do these two get hit, or otherwise trigger their armor bonuses?

How do you figure the damage from the different damage types? For example, if I have a base armor level of say...90 on all armor pieces, minus helm I guess. Then you took some damage from an elemental source, whatever it may be. Would the 90 AL protect you from said damage? Or does it have to be armor vs Elemental damage?

The reason I ask, is not only for my own use in figuring which armor I prefer. But also in order to understand the mechanics alittle better, as i've never bothered to learn. I checked Guild Wiki and google, but...came up with some information, but not exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for any and all help and I apologize for the long post

Read this first:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content...nics-id674.php

Now, as for your questions:

1. Weapon armor mods and shields apply to all locations.

2. If the armor doesn't specify that it's for a certain type, then it applies to all damage.

Ok, thanks for clearing that up. Though the math is a bit odd to me, I suppose i'll re-read everything, do a few calculations and see what I come up with. Cheers mate.