Are you playing on Master? I am playing on Adept too but I wonder why I am not having the same trouble with death lords. Not once has one ever used a disarm shout on me. Maybe it is because I don't prolong the battle and go with a full frontal assault. I first blow them away with full powered unrelenting force. Then while they are lying on the ground, I power hit them a few times to significantly drop their health. When they get up, I back off and cast a couple of spells to restore my stamina, after which I go head on and proceed to whack them to their deaths (periodically sprinting out of the way to heal if I take a few direct hits). Maybe it is all the health that I have but my character can really take a beating. 2 out of the 3 times that I level up, I upgrade my health.