First of all I don't believe that any team except the stunts NEEDS a big guy. The only time where you could concievably need a big guy (except the stunts) is when every other team has one, and even then is iffy. No one needs them, however they are fun,and I believe that the dwarves should get Deathrollers instead.I do have alot of experiance going against toughened Dwarves. Except for the loss of bonus mvp's and standfirm becoming a trait, dwarves havent lost anything in the current ruleset. Unless those changes have altered dwarves considerably, then even down the line dwarves dont NEED big guys, they may really want them but they dont need them.
Second...I do believe that Stand Firm becoming a trait is a big loss to the dwarves. It allows them to compensate for lack of agility and hold the line even stronger without having to become super offensive (Might blow/piling on). If Stand Firm were a skill choice I would take it right after guard on any of my longbeards, as it is Mighty Blow will probably be the second choice on standard skill rolls.
Sam
P.S. If anyone has good advice for a starting dwarf team (for when I get around to it) can you point me in a good direction?