[thejeff]

Well the key for Black Servant thugs is cheap and early.

I think the usual suggestions run along the lines of Black Plate, maybe Luck and a cheap shield. Horror helm?
Whatever you can forge with Construction 2 and your starting gem income, since you probably haven't done much site searching yet.

Ethereal with luck and high protection, plus native life drain goes a long way against indies and PD.

Obviously once you've got Conjuration 6, spectres are better, but that's much later and there are plenty of other options by then.