>>515800461maintenance perk makes noise negative on all armor except chainmails, avoid them
coats also have high noise, leave coar slot empty
prioritize head, torso and arm protection, you never get hit in legs unless you jump
visibility and noise stats apply only by fraction that's visible, for example, cuirass that protects only upper torso from the front, will have 4 times less noise than cuirass thst covers both front and back and also has falds to cover your crotch. Meanehile, maintenance buff that reduces noise always applies fully, regardless of size, and can make noise of an item negative. In my experience, Kastenbrust is the best for stealth. Riding cuirass should be close. And thst is why cleric robes suck, they are very large and have high noise.
Cutpurse hood can hide helmet, and overall cutpurse set is very stealthy.
The least visible gauntlets I could find are warhorse gauntlets. There are similar non-cheat gauntlets in the game but they have higher visibility and noise. There are also plate couters which can have negative noise but they inflate your visibility.
