Quick question out of curiosity:
The gear your NPC uses is irrelevant to the damage s/he deals in combat, ie., equipping the highest available great katana will be no different than equipping the lowest available great katana. The gear they use is useful only for the sake of appearances.
Is the race of your NPC more for appearances, or do stats actually play a part with them? (Do Tarutaru NPCs have substantially higher MP pools than Galka NPCs?)