If you don't like the idea of shield bashing, a shield can still be a decent defensive option, although there's no longer much point in actually holding a shield rather than getting one animated. I actually recommend one level of Fighter and two levels of Psychic Warrior, because increased reach from the Expansion power will help your AoO game immensely, and a Barbarian 2/Fighter 1/PsyWar 2/Crusader 1/Warblade 14 still gets 9th level maneuvers. You probably want Fighter Levels to support the massive number of feats your build requires - be sure to take the Hit and Run Fighter ACF from Drow of the Underdark to get half your DEX bonus to damage on flat-footed opponents. I recommend using a light shield and a Feycraft flail so that you can apply Weapon Finesse to both, and picking up the Double Hit feat for more attacks on an AoO - since you have Improved Trip and a flail with which to use it, this gives you three potential attacks per AoO. Note that while this strategy works better with a shield used in two hands, due to Tiger Claw access you actually have a reason to potentially try to use Two-Weapon Fighting with a shield and another weapon. You also probably want a variant form of Rage, either Whirling Frenzy or Ferocity. Two levels of Barbarian, with CC Lion Totem and UA Wolf Totem, gets you Pounce so you can do that repeatedly with your iteratives, and Improved Trip for an extra attack in your sequence. This allows you to shield bash on a charge, make a trip attempt, and force a save against dazing.
The core of shield combat is Improved Shield Bash, Shield Charge and Shield Slam.
Some general resources for shield-based strategies can be found here, but it'll take a fairly comprehensive chain of build logic to make your archetype competitive with other options.
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