Skilled is fine. It's like a 2,5 points IN boost. I always take it for my main char. There aren't that many good and working perks you can take anyway, especially without having the ability to choose at later levels. Unless you want to make a PvP powerbuild, I think you're better off with taking Skilled.
Definitely the worst trait ever of all is Bruiser and I had this simple idea for some time:
Currently we have:
Bruiser
Totally useless. If you want 2 more stat points you're better off just deducing them from AG. +2 ST gives at most +2 Melee Dmg (+1 effective damage).
Heavy Handed
A small +4 Melee Dmg Bonus for a big -30% on crit table. Even with six punches a round it's just 12 dmg more.
Would be more useful if the bonus was 4-4 (min-max dmg) instead of just 0-4.
What about we switch the upsides and the downsides of these two traits:
Bruiser
+4 (or more) Melee Dmg Bonus, - 2 AP
More balanced choice, especially with RT combat.
Heavy Handed
+2 ST, -30% on crit table
Big +2 stat points boost but at a big cost.
This wouldn't make these traits great, but surely much better than they are originally. Still, if we're going to re-design traits all traits, then we can think of something better.
One thing however, I never liked the idea that you can take trait like Bruiser or Small Frame and redistribute bonus points into another stat. They are supposed to make you stronger and more agile respectively, not more smart or prettier. There should be some limits in this matter.