Rest In Potatoes, Juggernaut
Damn right Maki was the shield.
Maki was out in front because she's good at defense. Hinawa is a ranged fighter with a gun, Shinra's strength is his speed so he's flying all over the place, Arthur is strong but not particularly reliable because of his delusions, Tamaki can jump around but has no defensive power since she can't wear armor for more than 10 seconds, Iris is praying, Vulcan is driving, and Captain Obi isn't pyrokinetic so he's not fire-resistant. Maki is skilled in hand-to-hand combat and can fend off multiple enemies at once, even more so with her Iron Owls. Those can beat people to death, fly around to hit from any angle, and now have video so can track things. She can sometimes take control of an enemy's fire because she's a second-generation. And if anyone makes a comment about her muscles that she hears as "gorilla cyclops," she annihilates them. I'd stand behind Maki any day.