Both of those aside, you could always mod in adventurer reactions to produce the items you want (except gloves--those won't come out with left/right handedness). If that feels too cheat-y to you, you could always modify the reaction to also require some kind of component you feel is appropriate for it.
I've been having good results with the Wanderer's Friend mod (
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=61304.0) which includes Tanmod - it adds adventurer reactions to allow you to tan hides, furs, feathers and chitin, and craft your own armor. So the first thing I do with any new adventurer is to go hunting so I can craft myself some wolf bone helms and breastplates, and maybe a snazzy buzzard feather cloak. These can usually tide me over until I can get metal armor from night creature lairs and bandit camps.
The gauntlet/glove bug still exists though, you can craft them but you won't be able to wear them.
If you're not adverse to a little bit of "cheating" in the name of roleplaying or survivability, you can use DFusion (
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=69682.0) to outfit your companions properly. The "Change Adventurer" function allows you to swap temporarily into the body of some other creature, so you can possess your companions briefly and have them pick up better weapons and armor. Having the rest of your party outfitted in bone boots, breastplates and helms means the majority of your people will survive the next goblin ambush. You can even sew backpacks for everyone and use them as mules.